


The Lost Prince

by TheFangedGoblin



Category: True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Human!Eric Northman, M/M, Rating: NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-08
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2017-11-13 20:34:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 64,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/507466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFangedGoblin/pseuds/TheFangedGoblin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <a href="http://s743.photobucket.com/user/A_Darker_Heaven/media/Banners/alostprince.jpg.html"></a>
  <img/>
</p><p>The King of Rowan heard a prophecy claiming that his second born son would rule and bring peace while his first born son would bring destruction and terror. However, no one knows about the King’s youngest son who was born from his Vampire lover. The King sends Eric Northman, his second in command and adopted son, out to bring him back from the dark forests. Vampires orphaned Erik when he was young and he faces many challenges when he is put in charge of the feral, vampire prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NurseDarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NurseDarry/gifts).



> A special thanks to NurseDarry for the beta work! If you read and enjoy, feel free to leave feedback!

King Philip of Rowan had heard a very disturbing prophecy. One that claimed his second-born son would be the one King to rule the kingdom of Rowan fairly and to bring peace, while his first-born son, Prince Liam, would bring nothing but destruction and terror.

The problem was that no one knew of the King’s second son, the son born of one of his concubines who had escaped with the baby fifteen years ago. The exotic concubine, Illyria, had enchanted the King from their very first meeting. After she had given birth to his child in secret, however, she exposed herself to him and fled in fear for her life and the life of her infant. She had run back to her own people: the blood drinkers, the night devils, the savage Vampire.

Embarrassed to find that his lover was one of his people’s greatest enemies, the King covered up the whole affair. He knew where she had gone but made no effort to find her again. The Vampires haunted the Vampyra Forest, an ancient, magical forest that lay to the south of Rowan. Many of Rowan’s people had been brutally killed inside that forest, drained dry and disfigured, or simply had disappeared and were never seen again. It was said that vampires have supernatural speed and strength and fangs that made them look more animal than human.  
Lord Eric Northman was the King’s best knight and Second-in-Command of his armies. Eric’s family had been peasants that lived close to the forest and who were attacked and killed by vampires, leaving him an orphan. The King and his men were traveling when they found young Eric alone and frightened after escaping a vampire attack on his house. Taking pity on him, the King took him in. Eric had been young, but he remembered everything from that tragedy. He grew up to be a handsome, fierce warrior with an appetite for revenge.

But now, his King, the man Eric sees as his father, had another mission for him. His orders were to take a small band of his most trusted men and infiltrate the Vampire’s Forest to kidnap the half-breed boy with the King’s royal brand on his shoulder. It was Rowan’s tradition that all royal-blooded men and women be branded as infants with the royal brand so that they would always know who they were.

The mission was shrouded in secrecy. The boy would be taken to the castle, trained as a prince, and given the royal crown the next time Rowan needed a king, whether he liked it or not. His true identity as half-vampire would forever be kept a family secret. The King told only Eric the truth about his plan, which was nothing short of insane to the knight.

Yet Eric agreed to do as his father asked, regardless. He gathered up his men, horses, and weapons. and prepared himself to return to the land of his childhood for the first time since the tragedy. His family’s ashes taken by the wind long ago.

The lost Prince would be returned to his king tonight.

Chapter One

Although very few humans knew it, vampires were far from the most dangerous beings in the forest. Very rarely did a vampire ever stray from the protection of its tribe. Even they would sometimes fear the darkness and what might lurk inside of it. It was because of humans that they lived as animals in the forest. There, they were safe from their day-walking cousins, and only when a wanderer or hunter lost his way in these woods would they taste his blood and drink his life.

Godric knew he should not sneak away, but he did not want to disappoint Oren, a boy from his tribe who was also sometimes his lover. Godric had been on his way to meet him in secrecy when he was caught completely off-guard. He had only just begun to sense something in the air when a silver lined net was thrown over him, and he was dragged away by the tallest human he had ever seen.

The young vampire did not have a lot of experience with humans. All he really knew was what he had been told: They were a good meal, but they could also be very dangerous if they knew your weaknesses.

Godric struggled as fiercely as any would, but this man was large and strong and the silver burning his skin was enough to make him scream and recoil. It was only when Godric was thrown into a silver cage on a wagon that he realized the human that had captured him was not alone.

Godric had no idea how much time had passed when he began to hear the humans talking about bunking down for the night. He had been taught the human language by his mother, but he pretended to know nothing in front of these men. It was safer to act as if he were exactly the little savage they thought him to be. It gave him a chance to study each of them carefully to determine each of their weaknesses. Godric had already figured out that many of them thought he was a demon from Hell and that one of the men was attracted to him. Godric could smell it on him and see it in the way that the man leered at him.

But the tall one who had captured him… he was clearly the leader and the one Godric hated the most.

Right now, however, Godric was busy staring at the short man who was following behind the wagon on his horse. One thing he knew he still had even though he was trapped inside this cage was his talent for intimidation. He watched as the short man rubbed his cross nervously and tried not to look Godric in the eye. They had been paid their fair share in gold from the King to keep their mouths shut about this midnight ride into the forest, but none of them thought they would feel as afraid as they did now beneath these trees.

“Lord Northman, the creature is staring at me again,” Leo yelled to Eric who was leading the caravan on his own horse. “I think it is trying to put a curse on me… Why does the King need this demon, anyway?”

"Do you not trust your king? It is not your business to question him," Eric barked at his companion who slowed to create even more distance between himself and the wagon from where the vampire boy still glared at him. "And if the creature wished to put a curse on you, he would have done so by now. You would be dead. In my opinion, he is nothing but a scared animal. He fell right into our trap," he scoffed arrogantly. Godric's eyes narrowed but he did not turn to look at the tall knight.

"Maybe we should camp here for a while and let the horses get some rest," the one that was attracted to Godric spoke up to voice his opinion. "Since Leo is scared of the child, I will take first watch guarding the wagon."

Eric gave Christopher a look and he ordered the horses to go faster. The steeds were slower than usual as if they did not want to disturb the creatures that slept in the forest around them.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd like that, the way you're eyeing him up. But staying here would only give the creature a chance to escape or for us to be killed. The King gave us specific orders to bring it back promptly. And besides, if you tried to have your way with the boy, he would most certainly end you," Eric snickered, "And I would not know what to tell your wife and children."

"Why would the King care if I had a little fun with the boy before we delivered him?" Sir Christopher answered him back, "You of all people know how these savages are. They should get what they deserve."

"And how are you planning on 'having a little fun', Sir? He would bite your dick off as soon as he got close enough. He's a vicious little monster, don't let his size fool you," Eric snickered.

Christopher smirked and opened his mouth to say something else when the loud sound interrupted him and he watched as a wheel suddenly caved in and the wagon stopped.

“The demon did it!" Leo screeched immediately, pointing an accusing finger at Godric who looked just as startled as they all were when the cage leaned precariously off the wagon's side. The horses reared up and panicked and Eric jumped to soothe the beasts as they kicked and threatened to make the situation even worse. If they lost the horses, they would have no way of getting home.

"Stop panicking," Eric called out calmly to his men, even as Leo was practically shaking with fear. It was Eric's job to keep order in order. Even with an unexpected problem such as this, there was no time for hysterics. He walked over to the silver cage to glare deeply into the vampire’s grey irises. "I don't know how you did this, but I will make you pay dearly," he growled, knowing that the savage could not possibly understand what he was saying. Godric hissed at Eric and tried to reach through the bars to scratch him with his sharp fingernails. Eric took a step back but did not back down from the threat.

"Calm down, men. The boy didn't do this," said Ian, the man who had been driving the wagon. He had a son of his own that looked to be around Godric's age and it was hard for him to see their prisoner as anything other than a scared little boy. "It will take me awhile to fix this, my Lord," he added apologetically to Eric.

"How long?" Eric snapped. His patience was running thin.

Ian stepped over to examine the wheel. "If I start now, I can have it fixed in a few hours," he told Eric. "But we need to get the cage off the wagon so I can work on it."

"Should we try and sedate him? Can vampires be sedated?" Christopher asked curiously.

"My strict orders were to bring the monster back to the king in one peace, unharmed. Otherwise I would have knocked out the brat a long time ago," Eric snarled, again glaring angrily into the eyes of his prisoner. The boy was covered in mud and wearing only a pair of deerskin trousers. Tattoos decorated his chest, arms and back.

Eric focused his glare on Christopher, whom he knew probably only wanted to sedate the boy in order to have his way with him. "Since you want to play with our new pet so much, you help take the cage down from the wagon," he ordered.

Eric watched as the two men lowered the cage to the ground and the others set up a fire. He expected to see some resistance and vitriol from the vampire, but the savage boy was suspiciously quiet. He had not been cooperative until now, and Eric did not trust it one bit.

He could not believe that the King thought this demonic creature was his son. It simply could not be. This monster was no prince, he could rule no land.

He crouched down to Godric's level and gave the boy an arrogant, sadistic grin. "My king wants you alive. But I could care less what happens to you. In fact, nothing would give me more pleasure than to drive my knife into your un-beating heart. So try anything and I will not hesitant to end you," Eric growled. Even though he knew the boy could not understand his language, he was sure he still made his point clear.

Godric answered Eric with a growl that sounded more animal than human. His fangs snapped into place to make him look even more fearsome, but Eric was unfazed.

"I fear that my king is suffering from insanity. He thinks you are something more than you are not. But when he becomes well again and realizes that you're nothing but an animal, I'll be happy to be the one to put you down," the knight continued.

***

Later that night, Eric stared into the fire and channeled all his frustration into the flames as Ian worked noisily on the wagon.

"Isn't he getting hungry? Will he starve? Will we have to...feed him?" Leo was asking nervously. He had hardly taken his eyes off of Godric the entire time.

"I don't care if the monster starves," Eric snapped.

Godric was hungry, very hungry, and being surrounded by humans was not helping. All of them heard something rustling in the wood, and when Eric and Leo turned to search for what it was, Sir Christopher snuck over to him.

Godric tried to look as innocent as possible as he lured in his prey. "Come here, little one, I brought you some bread," Christopher said softly, trying to coax him closer. Godric smiled at him and scooted closer until he was right at the door of the cage.

"That's a good boy." Christopher spoke gently and Godric reached out for the bread to nibble it as he tried to keep the disgusted look off his face. He didn't try to bite Christopher's hands off as they crept over Godric's leather clad thigh. He knew the man would want more, and in order to do that, he would have to open the cage.

Eric passed off the noise as a deer and lay back on the ground to stare up at the stars. He managed to convince Leo that the fire would deter any monsters from coming after them for revenge for taking one of their own, even though part of him wished they would. Then Eric could slaughter them, one by one, and have his revenge. He played out that fantasy in his mind as he closed his eyes and nodded off.

"Now, little one," Christopher soothed, as he pulled the key out just as Godric planned. "You're just like a wild horse. A little gentle touch is all you need, isn't it?" As soon as the door opened, Godric was on Christopher faster than the man could think. His sharp, thirsty fangs pierced his neck, but he hadn't anticipated the scream the human let out which alerted the others that something was wrong.

Startled, Godric let him go and took off into the woods as fast as he could.

Eric heard the blood-churning scream and was instantly awake. He grabbed the silver chains that he had been clutching to himself during his slumber and ran after the boy. Godric may have been faster than any human, especially with a body half-full of blood, but Eric's legs were long and the adrenaline and fury fuelled him to an almost supernatural speed. He tackled the vampire to the ground and wrapped the silver chains around him.

Godric fought back like a boy possessed but the silver not only burned him but weakened him, too. This was what Eric loved. It was the thrill of the hunt, that rush of adrenaline, the blood jumping in his veins that was so addictive to the knight. Overpowering something like a vampire was like sex to Eric. When he felt the boy knee him in the groin, however, the breath was knocked out of him and his hands forced the vampire's legs down to prevent another kick.

"The net!" he shouted to his men.

Later, Godric would blame it on the effects of adrenalin, but suddenly his legs were spread around his kidnapper’s hips and those amazing blue eyes glared down at him. He felt something other than anger and pain stirring inside of him.

Now panicking, Godric tried to buck the knight off of him. "Get off, get off!" he cried out in panic in the human's language. His accent was strange, but still very understandable. Taken off-guard, Godric would have overpowered Eric in that moment if the other men had not trapped him in the silver-laced net once again.

Eric stood, dusted himself off, and paced as he tried to digest what just happened. Godric went back to snarling like a wounded animal as the men slammed him back into the cage. "You all right, my Lord?" Ian asked as Leo tended Christopher's wounded neck.

Eric clutched his groin where the child had kneed him and did not answer his comrades. If he hadn’t heard it himself, he wouldn’t have believed that the boy spoke a familiar language. "Continue fixing the wagon! We have already drawn too much attention to ourselves, we need to hurry," he commanded Ian as he finally turned around.

***

An hour passed and Godric felt the wolves’ presence before the others did. For a moment, he debated what to do. They had been stalking their little group for awhile now and they were finally closing in to make their move. The werewolves would kill the humans, but that could mean he would be in danger too. What if the humans were slaughtered and he remained stuck in this cage? What if no one from his tribe came looking for him? What if the sun rose? The sun didn't have the same burning effect on him as the others from his tribe, but it was a gift his mother had taught him to hide from other vampires.

"My Lord, the wagon if now fixed."

Eric ignored Ian as he studied Godric carefully and watched as he growled into the darkness. Eric wondered what lurked there that his human instincts were dull to. And yet the savage spoke like a human. Perhaps the boy was more cunning than any of them thought. The bastard was pretending like he didn’t know how. "I heard the beast speak our language," Eric announced to his men angrily, "Don't let him fool you into thinking he is mute."

"The monster about tore my neck off, do we care if he speaks our language or not!?" Sir Christopher yelled as he held a bloody rag to his neck. "We should just put it down!" he shouted as he pulled out his sword with his free hand.

Eric stormed over to Christopher and stopped him. "I told you not to touch him! If you hadn't of tried, if you hadn't opened the damned cage, you wouldn't have been hurt! And neither would I!" he shouted. "If you so much as say another word to me, I will cut off your head myself and blame it on the creature. Not that anyone will care to hear about your unfortunate passing."

"It seduced me!" Christopher argued, "It used some sort of mind power on me! Witchery!"

"You know, I'm not afraid to make an example of you in front of my men and slit your throat for your disobedience. I'm also not so sure your fat ass isn't responsible for breaking the wagon, too. Maybe I should just leave you here to lighten the load, and wait for the other beasts to seek their revenge on you," Eric threatened.

While the men were fighting, they were not paying any attention to their surroundings. The feral werewolves were getting closer and closer, and finally, Godric couldn't risk anymore.

"Werewolves, you idiots!" he finally yelled, startling all of the men with his clarity, "We are being surrounded, let me out and I can help you fight them!" he added urgently. He didn’t like the idea of being left defenseless in the cage.

"Like hell you will!" Eric snarled, and kicked the cage with his heavy boot. "Load him onto the wagon, we're leaving now!" he ordered the men. He was not sure if the vampire was lying, but he was not going to stick around to find out.

It was then that they heard the first howl. All the men froze, including Eric, as the other invisible monsters between the trees began to join in from all around them.

When Leo saw the wolf approaching, he shrieked and mounted his bucking horse. He ran off as fast as he could with a wolf on his tail. Eric cursed him for his cowardly behavior. Instead of leaping onto the safety of the wagon, Eric took out his sword and challenged the beast to a fight with a fearless glare.

However, all the bravery in the world couldn’t protect him this time when it lunged and tackled him to the ground. The knight didn’t realize the wolf had backed him up against Godric's cage during the attack as he used all his strength to hold the monster’s abnormally large, snapping jaws away from his neck.

At first, Godric recoiled in shock and could only watch as they battled. He quickly realized, however, that this was his chance. All he had to do was reach out and snap the human's neck.

He reached through the silver bars that burned his skin, and when Eric felt them on his neck, he thought for sure that this was the end. Yet instead of delivering the simple flick of his wrist that would end Eric’s life, Godric reached past him to snap the wolf’s neck in one easy, well-practiced motion.

The furry beast collapsed limply on top of Eric and knocked the wind out of him. For one moment, Eric was paralyzed with shock until he pushed the wolf off of him and stood tall. He stared down at Godric as if he could find the answers in his eyes.

But there was no time for reflection as he heard the alarming howls again from all directions. Eric motioned for the rest of his men to shove the cage onto the wagon, and once they were all loaded on, the crack of a whip echoed into the depths of the forest and they were off.

The wolves followed for a while and the humans didn't slow their break-neck speed. Godric watched the wolves finally back off a few miles down the trail as if they were realizing something, but he didn’t know what. Sir Ian finally slowed the exhausted horses so he could at least talk to Eric, who was on his own horse beside him.

"This isn't a normal vampire we are dealing with, is it? That's why we drew this one out specifically," he pointed out. After all, every one of them heard Godric's warning spoken in their language. "My Lord, you know I would never question you or my king, but this boy is obviously more intelligent than any of the other monsters we have hunted. I would feel guilty if we are taking him to the castle for the King's shallow amusement."

"What do you know of normal vampires? They are cunning devils and not to be trusted," Eric said, but inside, he knew Ian was right.

"It's like he's acting the savage because we expect him too. And I know of no vampire that can speak our language," Sir Ian pointed out calmly. He had been with Eric through many battles and he was always the calm to the other knight’s short temper. "I know how you feel about them, how we all feel about them, but this boy is different." Ian was always confident in his own instincts and he knew there was more to this mission than to capture a vampire for torture.

"Well, he looks like a savage to me. He certainly has been living like a savage. Look at him. He is wearing more mud than clothes and his body is painted with witchery," Eric argued, refusing to listen to Ian’s wisdom. "He is most likely repeating words he has learned from listening to us."

“Perhaps,” Sir Ian sighed as they quickened their pace once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Several hours later, when the city and eventually the castle were within sight, Godric became jittery again. Until now, he had been sitting quietly and obediently in the cage, keeping a fair distance away from the bars that burned him as he planned his means of escape. But now that they were riding closer to Rowan, Godric began to quietly test the cage for weaknesses.

"Should we cover the wagon so the townspeople don't notice him in it?" Sir Ian asked Eric.

Eric glanced over at the vampire, who was becoming increasingly restless. Try as he might, Eric could not stop thinking about the strange, unexplained altruistic act with the wolf that the boy had performed earlier. "No. He is nothing but a beast in a cage, the people will know it eventually. Perhaps we could sell him to a travelling circus for a profit once my father gets over his temporary bout of insanity," he growled. The city was sleeping at this time of night anyway, and the mission had been a private one.

When they were in the safety of the castle walls, the King's wizard was waiting on them. "Lord Northman, welcome back," Marius greeted him. "The King would like to see you in his private chambers. I will put a spell on the boy to keep him pliant and follow in a few moments."

Eric nodded in greeting to the old wizard who had been a bigger part of his upbringing than the King had. He didn’t know why, but the thought of Marius putting a spell on the frightened boy made Eric angry. "There is no need to sedate him. The boy is cooperative. Don't waste your power," he told Marius.

Marius gave Eric a small smile. "So be it. If you think you can make him behave, bring him to the King yourself," he said.

Eric wasn’t sure if anything could make the vampire behave, but he still did not want to stun him. Eric had done as his King had ordered, and now, it was out of his hands. Soon, His Majesty would realize that the boy was not his son, but an immortal savage, and he would send him back to Hell where he belonged.

The wizard patted Eric gently on the arm. "It's good that you are already protective of him," he said to the Knight. "I shall do a spell to make him sleep. I really would like to get the boy cleaned up before he meets his father. There is more mud on him than skin."

Eric may have had a lot of respect for the elders that raised him, but he never was one to keep quiet and blindly follow orders. "What do you mean, already protective of him? Don't tell me you really agree with this crazed idea?!" he narrowed his eyes at Marius, "He's nothing more than a savage, a wild animal. Cleaning him up will not make him any less so."

"Who do you think told Philip the prophecy?" Marius challenged, as he waved a hand in Godric's direction. The vampire felt himself fall limp and surrender to a sudden deep sleep. "And consider it this way, my dear boy, would you rather serve this boy or Prince Liam when the King passes on?" he asked, as he opened the cage door to look at the sleeping boy closely.

Prince Liam was the Philip’s first and only son he had had by the Queen. Liam was spoiled, hateful, and thought the world owed him everything. Just like his mother. There wasn't a single redeeming quality in him, and he was definitely not a worthy ruler. "They are equally as destructive to this kingdom," Eric answered without hesitation. He looked skeptically at the wizard for the first time in his life. The old man had never been wrong. That was why he had such a high ranking as the King's trusted friend. "Liam may be a horrible leader, but we can't hand the crown over to a vampire."

"Half-vampire," Marius corrected. "And this boy will be a great ruler. His rule will be praised for centuries. 'The Boy King' they will call him, because he will never age past what you see here. Vampires stop aging physically when they find their life mates or if something traumatic happens to them."

Eric looked back to the sleeping boy curled up on the bottom of the cage and studied him in the light of the candelabras. Godric’s face was serene and peaceful under the spell, and the knight could almost believe Marius. Almost. He didn’t look like a monster anymore. He looked like a little boy. "Half-vampire or not, he is still from that forest, and he does not know the first thing about ruling our kingdom," Eric argued. "Besides, I am not convinced this really is the son of the King at all."

"He will have to learn, and you know that he has the brand." The wizard pointed at the mark on the vampire’s shoulder. "Go up to your father. He wanted to talk to you right away. I will have the servants help me with the boy."

Eric eyed Godric's mark suspiciously. It was genuine, he was sure of it, but it did not make this any less of a mistake. "He is just a child. You are saying that he will remain so forever? Mentally? Physically? Even if he is of royal blood, that does not make him fit to be a King of Rowan. He can barely communicate, and he's a killer." Eric sneered at the unconscious boy. "And what if he wakes up and startles the servants?"

"He will mature mentally, but not physically," Marius told him as he ushered in a servant to help pick Godric up. "I will keep him asleep; he will be fine. Go see the King. He has been worried about you."

"He does not need to worry about me. I am the best knight here. I was the only one attacked by a werewolf who did not need to change their trousers afterwards..." Eric insisted, but he left out the part about him owing Godric his life. He walked off, boots clicking on the marble floor as he made his way to his father.

King Philip the Second was pacing his private chambers when his guards let Eric in. "Good, you're here. Was your mission successful?" he asked, getting right to the point.

Eric walked proudly into the room. "I don't think you can call this mission successful, but if you're asking if I have the monster, I do. Marius has him sedated."

The King nodded thoughtfully and sat. He indicated to Eric that he should sit as well. "So I see, you think he is nothing more than a monster?" the King asked worriedly. "You know, with his mother, there was no indication of what she was. Her accent was strange, but that was all," he admitted, pouring a goblet of wine for himself and another for his son.

"Why were you with his mother? What was she like? Is she still alive? That is, if you can call these creatures alive..." Eric stopped himself when he realized he was being too bold with his questions.

The King smiled at Eric's boldness and walked over to the fireplace where a painting that was always covered with a curtain was hung. He reached up to pull on a thick rope that exposed the portrait it was hiding. It was of a beautiful, ethereal-looking woman with pale skin and gray eyes.

"I had this painted when she first became my courtesan. Slave dealers found her on the road and captured her, but with her beauty, she quickly moved up the ranks to Courtesan. I knew I had to have her the moment I saw her. Illyria was her name, and she never told me about her past or where she had come from, or…what she was. I should have been more suspicious. She was very smart. The smartest damn woman I've ever known. When she told me she was pregnant, I was excited. Liam was two at the time and we had just adopted you."

Eric sat down, enjoying the luxury of an oversized arm chair much more than the rickety wagon and cold autumn air of the forest. "You talk as though she were the love of your life. But she tricked you and left you, didn't she?" he jumped to conclusions. The King had married young, younger even than Eric was now, and it was no secret that he and the Queen did not fancy one another. The Kingdom had been hopeful with the arranged marriage, but they only had one son together before they moved to separate areas of the palace. Eric could not blame King Philip for seeking comfort elsewhere with an exotic woman, but he should have had more sense about him.

"It was as if she bewitched me," the King admitted. "She seemed worried when she told me she was pregnant. It wasn't till after the child was born that I caught her…feeding off of a servant. She hadn't been killing those that she fed from, but she was somehow drinking small portions and making them forget. She fled with the boy before I could confront her."

***

While Eric was listening the King's story, Godric was hearing it from the wizard. When he had first awoken, clean and in clothing that was not his own, he had been outraged. Marius saw through the boy and knew that he was familiar with the language of men, and cast a spell that calmed him as he listened carefully to the story of his mother.

His vampire mother had died in his arms a few years ago and Godric had always known his father was human. He had always felt that he was different and he had learned from an early age how to hide it from the others. Godric had never thought much about his father and had never questioned his mother. According to the wizard, his father was the King of the humans, but that still didn't explained why Godric was here now.

***

"So now you are giving this boy a chance to bewitch you, too? To bewitch the entire kingdom? We have never made alliances with the vampires, and we never will! They are murderers!" Eric thought back to his parents, their horrible death, and wondered how the King could rationalize this.

"I'm hoping his human side will prevail over his savage one,” Philip told him. "Marius has never had a false prophecy. And the boy is still young. He can still be trained. I know how you feel about vampires, son, but you are the only one I trust with him. No one can ever discover the truth about him, no one outside this castle."

Eric shook his head. "But he has already spent so many years as a monster, as a killer. For all I know, the child might be related to the vampires that slaughtered my family," he argued.

The King put a comforting hand on Eric's shoulder just as there was a knock at the door. Marius came through it after hearing the King’s admittance. "Your Highness, the boy is ready," the wizard announced, and behind him, stood a clean and well-dressed vampire. "He has behaved like a little prince," the wizard added with a smile, as Godric cautiously took in his surroundings.

Eric stared at the boy who had been freshly bathed and dressed in the whitest of garments. "This boy isn't the least bit suspicious of why we have brought him here? He is only trying to fool us, remaining calm so that we will trust him. But the second we do, he is going to lunge at our throats and run back to the forest, just you watch..." Eric told his King, knowing this boy was probably listening. "What's his name, anyway? Does he even have one?"

Godric glared at Eric. "Godric. My name is Godric." He spoke with a heavy accent. Marius raised an eyebrow and the King could only stare in wonder.

"That's a strong name for such a small child," the knight accused.

Godric found it easier to project his anger towards Eric than to his so-called father. "I am no child," he responded in a startlingly calm, even tone.

"You sure as hell look like one to me," Eric shot back at him as if there were an instant sibling rivalry between them. Eric was threatened by him, not just because of what Godric was, but because he was more his father’s son than Eric was and ever would be. Would the King favor him?

"Boys, behave now," Marius chastised gently as he steered Godric down onto the couch right beside Eric. It was only then that Godric noticed the portrait and it startled him enough that his real emotions actually showed through as he gazed up at it.

"You look a lot like her," said the man that was supposed to be his father.

"All monsters look the same to me," Eric snarled as he watched the boy's eyes light up with a mixture of emotions. "Aren't you even the least bit suspicious about him?!”

Godric ignored Eric's taunts, but vowed to retaliate at the first chance he got. "Why am I here? What do you want of me?" he asked bluntly of the King.

Coincidently, Philip was taken back for a moment before he found the words to answer his son. "I want to know you," he said, not wanting to give the real reason away just yet.

Eric looked back and forth between Godric and Philip. "Why don't you just tell him the truth? It's not like he does not already know. He is leading you on, I tell you... He is nothing but deceitful," Eric accused, unable to keep his mouth shut.

Philip shot Eric a look that told him to shut up before he regretted it. When he turned his attention back to the vampire, however, Philip’s strong features softened. "Godric is a fine name. It suits you," he nodded in approval, despite a huff from Eric. "I'm glad you speak our language. Did your mother teach it to you?"

"Yes, she taught me a great many things," Godric said. "Like the cruelty of men."

"And I've learned quite a lot about the cruelty of monsters like you!" Eric shot back at him, leaning forward as if he were going to attack him.

The King stood, and with a booming voice, he shocked Eric into silence. "Eric! I will not have you making our guest uncomfortable. He is not one of them anymore, he is my son!"

Eric was appalled by the thought of being replaced by such a creature as Godric. Deep down, he knew that the King still loved him like his own son, but Eric could not help but feel jealous and betrayed.

"Believe it or not, Godric, you were not brought here as a prisoner,” Philip continued. “I told my men to bring the cage and only use it if they had no other choice, but I should have known better. You will have to forgive my adopted son Eric. He has had an especially rough past with your kind, and he has every right to think I am insane for wanting you here. But as I said, my wish is not to keep you prisoner. I just pray that you will stay of your own free will. I believe we have a lot to learn from one another."

Godric watched the exchange between Eric and the King closely. The knight was jealous. It was rolling off him in waves. He could use that. "I will stay," he answered, "There is much I could learn."

Eric turned to glare in Godric's direction. The King just smiled. "You do realize that once you agree to stay, you cannot go back to the forest so freely. There was never meant to be an alliance between your kind and our kind, you understand," Philip told him.

Godric looked away from them then and stared at the floor. "I understand," he lied.

Eric had expected the boy to run like a coward back into the wilderness where he belonged, and was shocked that he didn’t. "He is lying. Why would he want to leave all he knows to be surrounded by his worst enemies?" he challenged.

"I want to know more about my human heritage," Godric lied easily to Eric's allegation. "I never thought I'd meet my father."

"He is lying through his fangs," Eric hissed through his own clenched teeth. "And even if we did keep him here, what would our people think? They will find out about him eventually. They would call you mad and they will rebel-"

Philip interrupted with a mere glare in Eric's direction. "We will keep him safe and our people will have to learn to eventually accept him and trust that he is royalty. You, Eric, will protect him. You will guard him just as loyally as you guard me. Do I make myself clear, son? You are brothers now, I expect you to treat him as such."

"That is an excellent idea your Highness, but I think we may need to keep Godric's vampire heritage quiet for now,” Marius spoke up. “We could tell the people that Godric has been living with his mother until now. Let them come to know him first."

Eric felt the pain in his arm where the werewolf's claws had snagged him. "You should get that arm looked at," Godric turned his expression towards him to say quietly. "I can smell you bleeding from over here."

Eric panicked and quickly covered his wound with his hand. "Did you hear that? He wants to drink my blood!" he shouted. "Speaking of which, he is probably starving, how the hell will we keep him fed?"

"Eric, calm down," Philip sighed, knowing that Eric could be melodramatic, before he turned to Godric. "Can you survive without blood, boy? Perhaps we can supply you the blood of animals..."

"I can survive without blood," Godric answered, and although it was true, it didn't mean that he didn't feel the gnawing hunger. But he didn't want these humans to know it.

"Good. You will need to. There will be plenty of proper food for you here. And you will have only the best of schooling. You will have everything you need and desire right here in this castle," the King smiled gently. "I'm glad you are here, son. I have thought about you a lot over the years. Yet I never thought I would ever see you looking at me through your mother's eyes."

"My mother is dead," Godric said bluntly. "So if you think you can use me to get to her, you would be wasting your time."

Philip looked surprised. "Oh... Oh, I did not know. I had only the purest of affections for your mother, and I would never have dreamt of using her for anything," he told Godric earnestly before he turned to Eric. "Eric, go tend to your wounds, I will not have you getting sick on account of your own stubbornness. Marius will heal you, if you ask him nicely."

Eric frowned. He was a grown man and did not need to be reminded of his manners.

"Come, I will get you patched up," Marius coaxed him, leading him out of the room. "You know his Highness is not replacing you," he said softly as they walked through the halls.

Eric clutched his wounded arm. "Of course he is. I would make a great king, and even if I’m not related by blood, he is still my father more so than that...that monster will ever be."

"You don't get jealous with Prince Liam. Why is this boy such a threat to you? You will always be the King's favorite, you have to know that. But Godric will need you even more so."

"Prince Liam is an idiot, and we all know he is nothing but a whelp," Eric agreed. "But Godric does not need me. I will give him nothing. He is plotting our demise as we speak."

"He may be half vampire, but he is still young by their standards. I think you should give him a chance. Your future intertwines very deeply with his," Marius said vaguely.

Eric narrowed his eyes at the wizard. "Since you know so much about everyone's future, why don't you just tell us what you know?" he challenged.

"Because you aren't ready to hear it. You will just have to trust me when I say that Godric will be a great king and you will find him worthy."

Eric sighed, knowing that Marius held his cards very close to his chest. "What, you don't want to spoil the surprise? You have to admit, a vampire leading a land of humans is ludicrous. I don’t trust him and never will. And I certainly am not babysitting him."

"It seems crazy, I agree,” the old man sighed. “But you will just have to trust me.”


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night, Eric grumbled angrily to himself as he carried the heavy tray of food down the long hallway. The King, in an effort to bring them together, assigned Eric to bring Godric his nightly meals and make sure he felt 'at home'. Eric tried to tell him that if he did, he would become the meal, but the King just gave him a look and sent him on his way. The tray consisted of samples of the finest food the kitchen had to offer so that Godric could pick and choose what suited him best. But Eric knew the boy would have no interest in any of it. Half-human or not, the monster inside him would demand blood.

Meanwhile, Godric felt like the bedroom he had been given was engulfing him and he longed for the openness and freedom of the forest. He was no prince. He was nothing more than a prisoner here. It was here, when he was finally alone, that he allowed himself to feel overwhelmed.

He was surrounded with strange and foreign things. He had lived his entire life naked in the forest and what little he knew of this world always seemed more like a faraway myth than a reality that existed not too far away from him.

When the King led Godric to where he would be staying, Godric had just been thankful to get away. He wondered if any vampires of his tribe would come looking for him once they realized he had gone missing. He wondered if he wanted them to. He was known for going off on his own. He often disappeared and wandered for hours and sometimes days. It could be a very long time before they realized he was taken. That thought only made him feel more helpless.

When Eric came through the door carrying a massive plate, it startled him. He had been sitting on the floor in front of the bed.

Eric glared angrily as he opened Godric's bedroom door and visibly startled the vampire who had been sitting on the floor in front of the bed. The young knight felt ashamed by doing the work of a servant for someone like Godric. "I'm supposed to bring you this. I doubt you think it would be appetizing. I mean, it's nothing compared to human flesh, right?" Eric snorted sarcastically as he set the tray down roughly in front of the boy.

Eric tried not to stare at Godric now that he was he washed clean of blood and mud and his chest was visible. He had taken off the shirt given to him already. His chest was toned and sculpted to perfection and inked with tattoos. His body fascinated Eric, but he suppressed his curiosity.

"Are you offering, brave Knight?" Godric challenged with a smile and allowed his fangs to elongate.

Why would he sit on the cold floor when there was a huge, luxurious bed built for a prince right behind him? But before Eric could get a chance to criticize the vampire about it, the monster flashed his fangs and Eric jumped out of instinct. He was too afraid to take another step closer, but he was too prideful to take another step back.

"I'm not afraid of you," Eric lied with a glare. "You are just a savage little boy to me, nothing more."

"You smell afraid to me and fear smells delicious on you," Godric said.

Eric shifted on his feet nervously. In front of his friends and fellow knights, he could always be the brave warrior he boasted to be. With an audience, he hid behind his own pride. But now he was alone in a room with the same breed of monster that killed his parents, and he was not so confident. His father had been the bravest warrior in the kingdom, but it was still not enough to fend the vampires off as they killed him.

"I'm not going to let you make a fool out of me. You may have tricked my father, the King, but I will not let you take over this kingdom," Eric snarled.

"I do not want this kingdom full of blood bags," Godric scoffed at the thought.

"And I don't want a blood-sucking demon as my brother," Eric glared.

"Trust me, Knight, I do not think of you as a brother." The boy smiled as he looked Eric up and down.

"What, then? A meal?" Eric growled. Out of determination to show Godric that he was not intimidated by him, he took a brave step towards him.

"I would not waste someone with a face like yours," Godric said, stepping closer in unison with Eric.

Eric bore his own blunt, human teeth and took a defensive step back. "You cannot lure in me with your spell," he accused, because he had heard that these creatures possessed that ability.

"I would not do that. I like the chase," Godric told him flirtatiously. He had no plans to glamour Eric. That would take the fun out of things.

Eric didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't know what kind of game he was now a part of. "If you ever think about making a meal out of me, or slaughtering me like your people did with my family, I will always be two steps ahead of you. I will kill you first," Eric promised before he quickly began to walk backwards out of the room with his hand firmly on his sword.

*

It had been two weeks since Godric's capture, and the vampire boy had settled in to castle life better than the King had thought he would. At least, that was what it looked like to him. King Philip had announced the homecoming of his long lost son to the people. Many who questioned Prince Liam's future on the throne were overjoyed to hear that there was now another option for future rule.

But no one knew the truth of Godric's heritage and it remained a closely-guarded secret. Godric himself had to be very careful to hide what he truly craved and who he truly was. He often waited until the castle was asleep before he would sneak out of his room and make his way to the stables for a quick, secret drink. In the forest, vampires in his tribe were sometimes lucky to feast off of a lost traveler, but now, human blood was all around him. He had been taking light drinks from his maid before healing her and glamouring her. He would send her on her way without her even knowing a thing. But that always took the fun out of it.

But Eric was no fool. He had a sneaking suspicion that Godric was adapting too well to his new conditions in the castle. There was something very strange with the ease to which he went from being a savage to a prince. Deep down, Eric knew not much could have changed at all.

He knew Godric must be scheming and he could have sworn that he has heard him leave the castle in the middle of the night before. Determined to catch him in the act of whatever he was doing, Eric kept himself awake that night and listened closely for the first signs of activity.

Jonathan, a stable boy, watched the moon as it poked out through clouds. The horses were all as silent as was the rest of the world around him. He was jittery, however, and excited that he was finally going to be alone with the new, beautiful prince. He was hardly able to believe that the prince fancied him, while he had the kingdom at his fingertips.

Godric appeared suddenly behind Jonathan, stepping out of the shadows. "Waiting for someone?" he asked. His voice was light and teasing.

Jonathan's heart skipped a few beats and then raced when the prince seemed to come out of nowhere. He hadn't heard Godric coming, he had been too deep in his own fantasy. "Just a handsome, young prince, believe it or not. Have you seen him?" Jonathan teased back, looking the smaller boy up and down seductively.

"No," Godric smirked as he came closer to run his hands up the stable boy's chest. "There is only me... I suppose it will have to do…" He would satisfy his other urges with this boy before he had dinner, he decided. Godric pulled the other boy down for a kiss and concentrated on keeping his fangs concealed.

Yet the eighteen year old Jonathan had some raging hormones of his own as he kissed Godric back with equal passion. He had had his fair share of gropes in the dark with the village boys and girls, but he had lusted after the new prince ever since he first saw him. "I've waited so long to be alone with you," he panted against Godric’s lips. "I got hard each time I thought of having you."

"You poor boy," Godric laughed as his hands wandered down his chest. "If anyone is having anyone, it will be me having you on your back."

The boy's heart was racing out of his chest at this point and it was music to Godric's thirsty ears.

Jonathan moaned seductively and his erection was aching as it pressed against the vampire's. "I don't just lie back for anyone," he teased.

"You will for me," Godric growled as he pushed Jonathan back until he stumbled and fell into a bed of hay. He followed and crawled on top of him. He wouldn't glamour the boy, not for this, but he wouldn't submit for him, either. "Turn around for me," Godric whispered.

"I want to see your face as your fucking me..." the boy playfully suggested, even though he knew he was little more than a slave to Godric. He would do anything just to be close to this beautiful boy.

There was something about him, something he could not quite figure out.

"You don't want to see me," Godric assured him with a whisper against Jonathan’s skin, not expecting the doomed boy to know what he meant. In that moment, he wished he was human so he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his identity a secret in such intimate circumstances. His fangs were sharpened and he hid his face in the boy's neck to hide them, which only made the ache worse. Godric's hands slipped under the boy's shirt as he nipped at his neck.

The boy was too far gone to think that what Godric said was unusual. He needed him too badly to argue with him as he obediently slid onto his stomach and lifted his ass suggestively. "Bite me again..." he pleaded, not knowing what kind of effect that would have on his companion.

Control. Control. Control, Godric repeated in his head. "I don't want to hurt you," he whispered reluctantly, but his fangs scraped along the boy's neck anyway, as if out of their own volition. He was so very hungry, and he hadn't expected to bite Jonathan this soon…

"I don't care..." the boy gasped wantonly as he bent his neck, hoping for another soft bite like the one before.

As he snuck into the barn that he had watched Godric disappear into, Eric heard the stable boy's heavy breathing and the sound of rustling hay. He rounded a corner to find the vampire on top of the stable boy, fangs withdrawn, and ready to bite.

"Get off of him, you monster!" Eric shouted as he pounced on him and tore him off of Jonathan. "Run away! Go on, go!" he commanded the shocked human boy.

Godric watched as his entertainment for the night ran away. Jonathan had looked more afraid of Eric than anything he saw from his vampiric lover. Godric turned to Eric, growled, and slammed him against the barn wall. "I should kill you for doing that!"

Eric fought back passionately. "I'd like to see you try!" he shouted. He clumsily raised his sword when he realized the boy had a hold on him that he could not break.

Godric snarled and pressed Eric harder against the wall before he pushed himself away. He had to get away from the knight before he did something he may regret. Eric was breathless when he found his footing again. "I wasn't going to hurt him," Godric said defensively through fanged teeth.

The excitement of all this had made Eric hard and he tried to convince himself it was only the excitement and nothing more. Part of him wished he could have watched the boy in the heat of passion. "No, you were just going to kill him! Oh, wait for the King to hear about this... I knew it! I knew you must be feeding on the humans around you!" Eric waved his sword defensively as he spoke.

"I haven't killed anyone, Eric. You cannot tell the King," Godric told him. He knew he could glamour Eric and be done with it, but he wanted to see where this conversation would go. "I was merely having an innocent roll in the hay, as you humans say." He smirked at his own pun.

Eric remained plastered against the wall, his sword between himself and Godric. "That's not all you were doing. You had seduced that boy to kill him. I saw you bite him," Eric insisted, even though now, he definitely wished he had waited to watch Godric disrobe.

"It wasn't that kind of bite. Did you see any blood?" Godric questioned. "I have to have blood, Eric. Your King may make me to be something I am not, but the hunger you feel is nothing compared to mine. I have enough control that I can stop, and no one would get hurt. And they cannot remember it afterwards," he confessed quietly.

Eric glanced down at the hay. No, he had seen no blood. But only because he had stepped in just in time, he thought. "You told my father that you didn't need human blood to survive. You lied to him. What's stopping me from telling him the truth?" He glared, still brandishing his sword as a barrier between them. He was used to fighting other men. He was used to being the only monster on the battlefield. But now, Eric knew he could never be as strong as Godric was.

"I could make you forget all of this, but I haven't. You stole me from my home against my will, but have I retaliated once?" Godric barked back, "You're just going to have to show me the same trust that I've shown you."

Eric gripped his sword tighter. "I've never trusted you. I've experienced first-hand how evil your kind is when you slaughtered my family and orphaned me." He tried to keep his expression the same even when he felt himself well up with emotion.

"I'm sorry that it happened to you," Godric said sincerely. "But you cannot blame a whole race for the sins of a few."

Eric opened his mouth as if to say something else, but no words came. His whole life, he had always resented every lowly monster of the forest for his family's horrid demise, not once considering that perhaps tragedies happened to them, as well. He continued to point his sword at the boy despite how unfazed Godric was by it. But Eric’s eyes could not help but wander again as his heart still pounded against his chest. He wondered if Godric’s impossible beauty was all part of his scheme to bring down this kingdom of humans.

When Eric didn't say anything, Godric stepped closer and put a finger on the tip of the sword. He gracefully pushed it away as he stepped even further into Eric's personal space. "You don't really want to hurt me," Godric told him simply.

Eric swallowed nervously and flattened his body against the wall. "I don't wish to hurt anyone. But I will if I had to, to defend my people and my father the King," he insisted.

"You are a very brave and loyal knight. How does one gain such loyalty?" the vampire smiled as he reached out and placed a hand on Eric's chest.

Eric gulped. He didn't know what Godric meant by that or why he was holding him in place against the wall, vulnerable, even though he was the one carrying a sword. And yet he felt defenseless, powerless, knowing that this creature could kill him with a simple flick of his wrist. All his years as a knight had not prepared him for this. Yet the feeling of Godric this close to him seemed to set Eric’s body alight in a different way. The boy was even more intensely beautiful up close and it was a bit like staring into the sun.

"I- I don't understand," Eric admitted.

This knight wasn't like the stable boy, Godric thought. He would need a slow seduction. Godric wanted more than just his sex and his blood. He carefully traced Eric's lips with a fingertip before pulling away. "Neither do I," he said honestly, looking at Eric through long, dark lashes.

Eric could finally breathe now that there was space between them, but his heart was still racing with something other than fear. Being this close to Godric was exciting, much like being in the presence of an ancient, pagan God. "You are a very strange boy," he whispered suddenly.

Godric smiled in amusement at Eric. He looked more angelic than demonic at the moment. "But I'm not a boy."

"You are half," Eric suggested, although he knew that small bit of humanity did nothing to stifle the monster inside of him.

Godric laughed out loud at that. "So they say. I hope you don't say anything to the King," he said again.

"It is my duty to," Eric said without thinking. He was too distracted with the way Godric's body language had changed to do more than stare like an idiot. He gawked at the way Godric’s shirt hung loose around his neck, so loose that his naked, tattooed skin peeked out to taunt him. Eric remembered him as he was, a savage, half-naked child in the woods, and wanted desperately to remember how he looked when the moon reflected off of his chest.

Before Eric knew what he was doing, before his mind could catch up with his wandering hand, he tentatively reached out to touch the bare flesh of Godric’s collarbone as if he were deep in a spell.

Godric looked at Eric curiously and smiled. "You want to see the rest of them?" he asked as he reached up to unbutton his shirt.

Eric had seen them before, but only in the dim light from the moon in the woods. The moon was full tonight and the lanterns were lit up the barn, the flames flickering rhythmically off of Godric’s skin. The knight wanted to stop him, or to tear his eyes away, but he could not. He stammered, opening his mouth as if to say something, but still, no words came.

Godric finished unbuttoning his shirt and let it slide off his shoulders and onto the ground. "Do you like them?" he asked playfully.

Eric didn't know what to say to that. The exotic markings that covered Godric’s skin only added to his mystique and alarming beauty. Eric had only seen tattoos on some of the older knights, but it was a rare thing in these days. They were nothing compared to the markings that made Godric a walking piece of art. "What do they mean?" he asked inquisitively.

"They tell who I am. Like what tribe I am from and who my mother's family was," Godric explained, although he wasn't sure why he was bothering to open up to the human. He licked his lips, thinking about the meal he just gave up. "I should probably go find that poor stable boy and make him better understand what just happened," he told Eric. In other words, he would glamour him into forgetting what happened.

Eric was only able to shake himself out from the dream when he realized what the boy had said. "You will not. Step anywhere near him and I will tell the King," he threatened.

"I told you I wouldn't hurt him. I assure you, he would have enjoyed it."

Eric quickly stepped in front of Godric as if that would successfully prevent him from escaping if he wanted to. He gripped his sword that was now at rest at his side. "Who else have you been feeding upon?" he demanded.

Godric eyed Eric's sword curiously. "A couple of others. A few maids, a servant boy," he answered honestly with a shrug, "They don't remember and I left no marks."

Eric glared. He realized then that there was nothing stopping Godric then from taking him as his victim as well and from erasing his memory just as he had done to so many innocent others. "And me? Am I next?" he accused.

"No," Godric sighed, turning his attention away from Eric's sword to look him in the eye.

Eric seemed surprised and unsettled by that. Now, he had to know what made him so special in comparison to the others. Was his blood not good enough? Did Godric not find him attractive? "Oh? Why not? What makes me any different than a stable boy?" he demanded.

"The difference is he wanted it, even if he did not realize it. You do not," Godric told him.

Eric scoffed at that. "Oh, you cannot say that. Of course he did not want you to drink his blood. Why would he want to be your prey?"

"It's a very sensual experience," Godric smiled tauntingly. "It can be quite enjoyable to be fed from, I hear. Would you like to try it?" he teased.

"If you try it I will stab you through the heart... I hear that is how your kind can die," Eric threatened. "You say it is a sensual experience, but nothing can be as sensual as sex itself. I'm not convinced you cannot just be human and find your pleasure elsewhere..."

Godric came closer. "I guarantee I can make you come without even touching your cock."

Eric gasped and gripped the sword by his hip. "You're a demon," he panted lamely, not having anything else to say.

"Yes," Godric laughed as he laid his hands back on Eric's chest.

When Eric backed away, he only imprisoned himself further between the wall and Godric. A part of him wanted to beg for Godric to let him go, or perhaps for something else, but that was just not who he was.

He could be a monster, too. He bore his teeth and snarled instead.

Godric smiled and his fangs elongated. He always appreciated a good challenge. He was on Eric in a blink of an eye, pushing him down to lay flat on the ground and moved to straddle his hips, pressing against Eric in all the right places. He pinned Eric's hands beside his head and sniffed at his neck before be licked the spot he planned to bite. "You will enjoy this," Godric whispered into his ear before he slowly sank his fangs into Eric’s flesh and moaned at the first taste of his blood.

Eric cried out in a mixture of shock, terror, and pleasure. He was powerless to stop Godric, he realized, and there was something about that sweet surrender that made his body hard and wanting again. There was a pin-prick of pain, but with it came impossible pleasure. At first, he fought against Godric, but the boy was holding him down so strongly that it only tired Eric out and his body could only writhe erotically instead.

He realized that even if he were about to die, as surely he was, he did not care. Eric had never felt such a high pitch of pleasure before.

Godric didn't take as much as he could have or wanted to. He only took enough to satisfy his thirst and enough to become even more infatuated with the knight. When he pulled away, Godric gently licked the newly formed marks before he bit down on his own tongue and allowed his blood to heal the wounds as if they had never been there. When it was done, he laid his head down on Eric's chest and listened to his heartbeat as Eric came down from his high.

Eric's entire body shivered against Godric. He knew he must be dead, but what a beautiful death it had been. Only half-conscious now, he panted for air and his heart beat loudly in his chest as his hardened erection ached. When he could finally open his eyes half-way, he gazed into the grey eyes of the boy on top of him. He could not look away. Still too blissful to fully understand what had happened and what was still happening, all Eric could do was ride the waves of euphoria.

Godric's hands continued to wander until they found Eric's erection and gave it a gentle squeeze. Eric moaned as he arched his back, needing more. The next sound he made was much more of a needy whimper.

"What do you want?" Godric whispered knowingly.

Eric heard the question but could not voice an answer. The truth was, he wanted everything that Godric had to offer. He wanted to be with him, to be inside him, but most of all, he wanted to feel what he had just felt all over again.

It was the search for the words to say these things that finally stirred Eric out of his stupor. It was as if he were waking from a dream. He blinked and realized all too suddenly what had happened and what was still happening. He gasped and threw Godric away from him. "What did you do?" he demanded, his hand covering his neck over where he still felt the boy’s lips.

"I did want you wanted me to do," Godric said with a smug smile.

Eric looked down at himself as if he were making sure he was still in one piece. "I'm not dead," he said to himself, astonished. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"My kind doesn't have to kill to feed," Godric told him as he stood and brushed himself off. "I should go back to the castle, the sun is rising."

"But you enjoy killing... It is in your nature," Eric accused.

"I've never killed anyone that I have fed from in your kingdom," Godric told him again honestly.

Eric glared hatefully. "And will you continue to feed from the mortals of my kingdom, to play with them like objects? Just as you have just done to me?" he demanded.

"I didn't make you forget," Godric pointed out to him.

"Yet," Eric reminded him distrustfully. "You have not erased it yet, but you will?"

"No, I want you to remember how it felt, every moment of it," the Vampire smirked, and Eric swallowed nervously.

"But you will continue to prey on them like a wolf in sheep's clothing," Eric scoffed. "If... If I give you my blood every night, will you leave them alone? Will you stop preying on the innocent people of this city? Would that sate your hunger?"

Godric would have rolled his eyes at Eric's martyrdom, but he found his proposition amusing. "It would satisfy my hunger, yes," he said. "Why? Are you offering to be my…victim?"

Eric's pressed his body hard against the wall if only to support himself. "Only... Only if it saves others," he said. "But you must make a promise to me to never drink from them, even if you wish to... And you must not kill me or take away my memory. No witchery at all."

"Fine," Godric agreed with the barest hint of a smile. "We have a deal then. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a stable boy to see." With that, he turned to leave the barn.

Eric stood, but underestimated how shaky his legs would be and almost falling back to the floor. "Did we not just make a deal?" he shouted after the boy.

Godric stopped and turned back around to look at Eric. He had every intention of leaving, but when he noticed how shaky Eric was, he stopped. "Let me help you get back to your room first," he said, and in an instant, he was by Eric's side. Godric wrapped an arm around the taller man's waist to support him. "I cannot have my only food source fall down the stairs because he is a bit clumsy."

Eric shoved Godric away from him. He was the kingdom's finest knight. He didn't need help back to his bedroom. "You are still nothing but a teenaged child," Eric accused before he straightened up and regained his dignity. "How old are you, really?"

Godric shrugged. "We don't keep up with such things."

"And how am I going to trust that you will not go back on your word?" Eric challenged. "I am not agreeing to sell my soul to the devil for nothing."

"Are you always this melodramatic?" Godric asked with a smile. "I promised you that I would not. What would you have me do to prove it to you?"

Eric dusted himself off. "I suppose... I suppose I will just have to trust you. And if I find you have broken my trust, the first thing I will do is tell the King," he threatened, though his voice was still shaky.

"Deal," Godric agreed, because that was the last thing he needed. "Are you sure you do not need help going back to your room, my handsome prince?"

"I certainly don't need any help from you," Eric snarled as he walked out of the barn and headed clumsily back towards the castle.


	4. Chapter 4

The next night, a party in the castle was in full swing. It had been King Philip’s idea to formally introduce the new prince to the kingdom and to celebrate his acceptance into the royal family, but the events surrounding the strange boy’s past remained shrouded in secrecy from the common people. Rumors spread through whispers and giggles as people looked upon the mysterious, pale, tattooed new prince with wonder. He was different, they all knew it, but none were bold enough to demand answers of their King.

Godric was finding it very hard to stay calm and composed in such a large group of humans. He had never seen so many in his life and it was making him incredibly nervous. The King had introduced him to as many high ranking officials as he could, hoping that the boy would remember the few manners he had been taught, but Godric remained silent and only watched in amusement as the taller human men bowed before him.

Eric, meanwhile, sulked as he sat in a lavish, red velvet chair dressed in his best attire. He looked much more like the prince than Godric did, who was seated next to him. The King had insisted that the royal family sit as one during the feast. Eric paused from drinking to look over at the vampire. Godric could feel his eyes all over him, but he did not turn his head to stare back.

"You are failing to blend in, Prince," Eric snickered in a whispered voice. "You are not very good at becoming a wallflower."

"Yes, well, you are very good at demanding the center of attention," Godric shot back at him as he rested his head on the back of his chair and gave up moving his food around on his plate with a fork. "How much longer can this last?"

Eric shrugged. It depended on how plentiful the wine was. The drunker the crowd was, the longer the party. "I do enjoy watching Liam squirm in his seat, however. He hates you more than I do." Eric laughed as he eyed his 'brother' down the table. It was only last night that Eric had sold his soul over to Godric, giving him a nightly sip of his blood in exchange for the safety of his people, and he was drinking plenty of wine to distract himself.

"I do not understand," Godric said honestly. "I have been nothing but polite to him and all he does is glare at me."

"He is jealous. He wants the crown, even though there is no way he will get it. You’re just more competitor standing in his way." Eric snickered and took another generous sip from his goblet. "He is just a ‘momma's boy’. I question their relationship."  
Godric frowned. Nobody had told him anything about who would get the crown one day. "If Liam is not going to be king, then are you?" he asked with a curious cock of his head.

Eric quickly realized that in his drunken stupor he had almost let that secret slip. He took another lengthy gulp of the bitter alcohol before he spoke. "I hope to. I would make a good king," Eric said a little defensively as if he dared Godric to disagree.  
"You would make a great king," Godric whispered after a few moments of contemplation.

Eric turned to him angrily. "It is not funny. I don't appreciate your sarcasm," he accused, and huffed as he drank the rest of his wine.

"I am not being sarcastic," Godric turned his head to glare, and appreciated the way the candlelight gave Eric’s blond hair a halo affect around his head. "I hear you are quite the ‘ladies man’." He smirked teasingly, deliberately changing the topic.

"And I am sure you are quite the lady-killer," Eric laughed drunkenly at his own joke. "Or do you only prefer the taste of men?" He had a feeling he did.

"Blood is blood; some taste sweeter than others but gender does not matter," Godric answered with a shrug as he looked over the crowed room. "But I prefer to fuck men if that was what you were implying," he remarked crudely.

Eric snickered as he poured himself another tall goblet of wine. If he was going to sell his soul to the devil, he was going to do it as drunk as possible. "And how did I taste? Up to your standards?" he teased low in this throat, speaking only to himself as if he didn’t expect Godric to answer.

"You, my Knight, taste delicious," Godric said with a grin.

Eric glared off into the distance and pretended like he did not hear the comment. He couldn’t tell if Godric was serious or not. He never could. The boy could not be trusted, after all, and Eric wondered how far under his spell he was. Grabbing his goblet, he rose from the Royal Table and stormed off in a huff. The young vampire watched him go.

Queen Vivian skillfully chose that moment to take Eric's seat while it was still warm. She gave the boy produced out of her broken marriage a gleaming smile. "He is jealous, you know. He probably wants this party to be about him," she explained to Godric.

"He can have it," Godric answered simply, not turning to look at her. He didn’t know what this woman was up to, but he was not going to let his guard drop.

"He is jealous because he is not the King's biological son, and you are only half royal blood, my dear. Between you and me, this party should really be congratulating my son, the only legitimate prince and future king." She smiled charmingly at him as if they were talking about the weather.

Her husband the King did not fool her one bit. Although Vivian had been kept in the dark about the details of Godric’s life just as much as her people had, she knew why the King had brought the feral boy here. She also knew he did not belong, not one bit. He was only a constant, living reminder of the failure of her marriage. In Godric’s eyes, she saw the concubine that stole her husband’s soul.

Godric raised an eyebrow and finally turned to look at her. She was startled by the intensity in his gaze. "Blood seems important in this city."

The Queen had drunk one too many that night and was bolder than usual. "You don't plan on taking over this kingdom, do you?" she teased, as if she were not seriously asking the question. "Do not allow my faithful, handsome husband to fill your pretty little head with ideas, boy. Liam is much older than you."

"I care nothing for this kingdom," Godric said truthfully before rising from his seat. He’d had enough. "Excuse me."

The Queen smiled as she watched the family's newest member scamper off, thinking that she had successfully frightened him. No one knew, however, that Marius had been watching Godric carefully the entire time, especially during his interaction with Eric.  
He knew that fate would eventually be kind to these boys, but the hurdles in-between would be painful for both of them.

Eric was pacing the hallway, drunkenly stumbling every time he turned. He was beginning to regret what he promised Godric last night, especially because now he was not so sure he could sacrifice everything, including his life, just to keep a stupid demon child fed and the people of this village safe. He was not so sure that they were worth saving.

"Did you drink enough tonight?"

Godric’s voice startled Eric visibly. He could have kicked himself for showing this monster so much vulnerability. He was the kingdom's best knight and he could not even look directly into the eyes of this little boy. "I should be asking you the same thing," he accused.

"No, I didn't," Godric said with a fanged smirk, "Why do you think I sought you out?"

"I must taste rotten right now," Eric tried to use an easy excuse. "Have you even tried any real food? Even given it a chance? I will not give you a drop until you do!"

"That was not the deal, Eric," Godric told him gently as he backed the taller man into a corner.

"I'm allowed to change the terms of our agreement," Eric insisted, even as his voice slurred and his back flattened against the wall. Still, he refused to admit that he was nervous. He remembered what it had felt like to have Godric feed from him and he shivered from the memory.

"No, you're not," Godric told him. He reached to cup Eric's face gently, though he had no interest in glamouring him.

Eric flinched back and was taken off-guard by the vampire’s gentle touch. He did not fight Godric then, but he didn’t look into his eyes, either, and his gaze fluttered around, unfocused on anything except on the boy in front of him. Eric was afraid of submitting to his spell if he did...

"Do you still fear me, Knight?" Godric asked, leaning forward and licking a trail up the other man’s neck.

"I never feared you," Eric growled defensively, though it was clear he lacked confidence. Godric unsettled something deep inside him that no other seemed to. "It- it is you who should fear me," he insisted.

Godric did fear Eric, but not in the way the human wanted him to. Godric feared him because he had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Eric. His fangs teased Eric's neck then pulled away. "I want to do this somewhere more comfortable."

"Why, so you can prolong my torture?" Eric accused, even as his body nearly shook against the wall. He was much taller than this boy, but he didn’t feel like he towered over him at all. There was something exciting about that, about Godric being the first to ever overpower him, but Eric pushed that thought far out of his mind.

"Not at all, I want you to enjoy this," Godric whispered. "I want you to beg me for it."

"That will never happen," Eric snarled even as his body froze and his heart raced out-of-control against his chest. "I suppose we should go to your bedchambers, considering anyone could walk in on us. And neither of us wish for that." Eric cringed at the thought. People would misunderstand seeing the two brothers together like this.

"Would it ruin your reputation as a ladies’ man?" Godric snickered as he nuzzled Eric's neck. It seemed he couldn't get enough of the other man's smell.

"Nothing would ruin my reputation as a ladies' man." Eric gasped when he felt Godric nuzzle his neck and fought back the urge to give him all of himself right then and there. "I've even had a few men in my bed just to spice things up... But never an angel-faced demon boy."

Godric smiled at Eric's words even though he knew it was just the wine talking. "Would you want one?" he asked, lifting his head.

Eric exhaled shakily, only now realizing that he had been holding his breath. "No... I refuse to let you put a spell on me."

"You will sleep with anyone else but you refuse me?" Godric challenged as he pulled Eric to the nearest room so they wouldn't be out in the open hallway.

Eric allowed it and told himself it was only because he was too drunk to fight him off any more. "This is not about sex. This is about blood," he reminded Godric sternly.

Godric’s fangs throbbed in frustration. "Fine," he growled irritability before wasting no more time. He bit down harshly into Eric’s neck and moaned at the first taste of his blood. Eric cried out as he felt the pierce of fangs and practically collapsed against Godric, surrendering completely. His nails scratched the wall behind him, begging for Godric to swallow him whole. His erection ached as he pressed it hard against the vampire's hip.

It was difficult for Godric to control himself and to keep from draining Eric dry. How could anyone taste this good? Godric would have willingly given up everything he had ever known, the forest, his tribe, his past, his name, if it meant he could have this forever. Eric moaned and bit his own lip and tasted his own blood on his tongue, as Godric took in return possession of his mind, soul, and body. Eric gave it to him like a willing whore. He felt Godric's erection against his own now and was that much closer to coming undone.

That was when Godric pulled away, knowing that if he didn't, he would go too far. He slowly licked Eric’s neck clean and bit his own tongue so his blood could heal the weeping wound on the other man’s neck. He forced himself to step away and wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. Eric almost collapsed onto the ground and his entire body swooned from the pleasure and the blood loss. Whatever blood remained seemed to flow directly to his cock and he ached. "I- I need..." he began, but words failed him.

Godric was instantly worried that he had taken too much. Without thinking, he bit his own tongue again before pulling Eric to him and pushing the blood into Eric’s mouth. Godric knew Eric would heal faster that way. Eric opened his mouth for the kiss immediately, and still far too delirious to realize what was happening. But he moaned as he tasted liquid fire on his tongue. He greedily kissed Godric harder until he could no longer taste it.

The vampire pulled away again, but this time, he did not go far. Instead, he leaned his forehead against Eric's. "My blood will heal you. I didn't mean to tear you so badly."

Eric grinned and stared into Godric's grey eyes. He did not care in that moment if the boy drained him dry. "More," he pleaded, tilting his head as if to entice him.

"No," Godric said as he kissed over the healing wound. Now, he would feel Eric everywhere. He would be able to feel his pain, his happiness, his arousal. "I have taken too much as it is."

Eric was still lost in his lustful haze. "No, you have not taken enough," he stated weakly. He pulled at the boy and tilted his own neck further.

"Shhhh," Godric soothed as he maneuverer them to sit on the floor. He leaned Eric against the wall and straddled his hips so he could keep him close. He licked Eric’s neck clean like a mother cat would her kitten.

Eric relaxed instantly as he felt Godric’s light, pleasurable weight in all the right places. He sighed and closed his eyes, still lost in sensation. "More," he pleaded.

Godric kissed along his jaw line, knowing that the Knight’s pliable attitude would not last longer than a moment. "You are so beautiful," Godric whispered against his skin, "I want to keep you."

Eric would have laid down his life for another bite. "Will you do that?" he asked as he exhaled. His heart rate was now slow and lazy and Eric felt as if he were drifting on a cloud in his euphoria. "I want it again," he insisted.

"I will be hungry again later," Godric said with a chuckle. "I need to get you to bed. You need to rest."

"You will come to bed with me?" Eric sounded excited in his numb state as he asked. He couldn’t imagine parting from the body in his lap that was so warm with his blood.

"You said you did not want any demon boys in your bed," Godric smirked as he slowly stood up and pulled Eric up with him. Eric only laughed. "Come on before I lose control and fuck you against the wall.”

Eric panicked when he felt Godric try to move away from him, and he instinctually clung to Godric more tightly. He used all of his strength to hold himself back, even if it was nothing at all to the vampire. "Don't leave," Eric pleaded.

"You are killing me," Godric moaned as he allowed Eric keep him where he was. His arms were far too tempting to fall into.

Eric nuzzled Godric's lips with his own and playfully nipped him, hoping to entice him into biting back much harder. "I need you to take more," he begged as he moved down to the vampire's neck to nibble him there.

"Tomorrow... Tomorrow I will take more," the vampire promised as he gently returned Eric’s kisses.

"No, I need it now," Eric slurred. He could still feel Godric’s fangs in his neck, sucking the life from him. "I won't die if you just take a little more..." Eric hands clawed weakly at Godric in desperation.

"How about you take some more of mine?" Godric offered, wanting to deepen the blood bond.

It took a few moments for those words to register in Eric's mind, and at first, he didn’t know how to respond. But if it made him closer to Godric, if it brought back the euphoria he felt when this living god drank from him, Eric would do it.

He answered Godric by nuzzling his neck and nipping at the flesh there. His bites were soft at first, but became harder and harder as if he was trying to penetrate the skin himself with his dull, human teeth. Godric chuckled at Eric’s attempts and leaned away from him. "Like his," he instructed as his fangs dug into his own lip until the skin broke and he leaned forward for a kiss.

Eric kissed him passionately until he tasted the delicious, liquid fire down his throat. He felt his body strengthening as he kissed Godric more fervently, to drink as much as him as possible. Eric wanted to fill his body with Godric. He wanted to complete the cycle. He drank greedily until the kiss ran dry, It only made Eric want more.

When he felt the boy grinding down on his erection, Eric felt his own orgasm rise up inside of him too fast for him to control. He broke away to cry out and spurt his seed into his trousers.

Godric smirked against Eric's lips when he realized what had happened. "Feel better?"

Eric was exhausted when he finally rode out his last wave of his orgasm and he closed his eyes. He smiled and leaned against the wall, fully intending to just go to sleep here.

Godric chuckled. "Sleep, I'll get you to your bed."

Eric misunderstood and his brows furrowed with worry. "No, you need to come with me," he pleaded, not wanting to be apart from Godric, not while he still felt his blood warming his veins.

"I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep," Godric vowed. Again, he stood up and pulled Eric up with him.

Eric collapsed onto his bed a few moments later and fought sleep only long enough to make sure Godric was not going to leave him. He stared in awe when he brought his own hand up above his head and it sparkled with magic. He moved his fingers in fascination.

Godric smiled as he watched Eric. He knew he may as well take advantage of a pliant Eric while he had the chance and lay down beside the human, snuggling up close, and enjoying the human's warmth.


	5. Chapter 5

Eric was startled awake the next morning by the loud gasp of a female servant. On mornings such as this after a celebration such as last night, it wasn’t unusual for Eric to wake up to a bed full of women. They were usually local whores and daughters of his father's friends, and he usually remembered nothing. So when he opened his eyes to find Godric curled up next to him and a girl wide-eyed in the doorway, Eric nearly jumped out of his skin. "Get out!" he demanded. He didn’t know if it was directed to the sleeping vampire by his side or the girl staring back at him in shock.

The day always affected Godric's sleep differently than it would a full-blooded vampire or a human. When the sun was high in the sky, he simply slept like the dead, waking only if shaken to consciousness. Yet this time, he slept soundly, right through his companion’s shouting.

Eric stared down at the boy in surprise when he did not wake. The servant girl was visibly shaken and scrambled out of the room. Eric only hoped she wasn’t running away to tell the King that his favorite son was in bed with the newest addition to the royal family. "Wake up!" Eric shouted a second time at the vampire.

Godric slowly opened his eyes with a moan. "Why do you humans insist on waking up so early?" he complained groggily as he turned his back to the human.

Eric’s own jumbled mind searched for answers. Somehow, despite everything, he could remember everything from last night. He remembered the taste of Godric’s kiss and the feel of his fangs sinking into Eric’s neck. He remembered begging shamelessly for Godric’s blood as if it were his life's elixir and drinking it as if he too were a monster. Was Eric poisoned now? Would he become a demon too? Was this Godric's plan all along?

"Make her forget! Make her forget she saw us!" Eric shouted at the boy.

Godric groaned reluctantly when he realized what must have happened. In a flash, he was out of the bed and in the hallway. He grabbed the girl by her throat and placed his hand over her mouth to stifle a short-lived scream. It was a few moments later when he walked back into Eric's room. "You're reputation is safe," Godric said sarcastically. The girl had been easy to glamour. She had wanted to forget.

"Get back," Eric demanded shakily. He had prepared for Godric’s return and now held a sword tightly in his hand. "You... You fed your blood to me."

Godric actually looked a little ashamed at Eric's accusation. "You were weak, I was concerned."

Eric scoffed at that. "Concerned? Why would you be concerned?"

"I thought I may have taken too much.”

Eric narrowed his eyes at Godric threateningly. "You did take too much. You took enough to make me...to make me want it!" he accused, even though deep down, in the pit of his soul, Eric knew that was not the case. Even if Godric had only taken a sip, he would have wanted more.

"You agreed to this deal. I did not make you enjoy it," Godric argued. He was not the least bit intimidated by Eric now that he could feel what the human was feeling. It was of Eric’s emotions were his own. "I could have fucked you last night and you would have been begging for more."

Eric shook his head, not wanting to hear. "Because of a spell! You cannot play with people like that! I am not a toy!"

"I didn't influence you. I told you that I wouldn't," Godric sighed. He knew he wasn't going to get through to Eric this way, so he slowly came closer as if he were approaching a wild animal. "I'll let you touch me if you want…to see for yourself that it's not a spell."

Eric stared in confusion and took a careful step backwards. "Why would you think I want to touch you right now?" He could still feel Godric inside of him giving him strength. He could feel that liquid fire warming his veins and he could still sense the aftertaste of euphoria in his mouth. The boy was beautiful now, his hair tousled from sleep and his shirt unbuttoned. He was full of life, heated and warm, and it was all because he had fed from Eric.

"Because I can feel what you feel. You have me inside of you now," Godric explained as he effortlessly pushed the sword away and stepped closer.

Eric allowed Godric to lower the weapon. He knew that when it came to it, he was completely defenseless. But he was not used to feeling vulnerable. "You tricked me," he snapped at Godric. Did that mean he belonged to him now? Would he ever escape him?

"Perhaps a little," Godric admitted as he easily backed Eric against the wall. Despite the boy’s smaller frame, Eric felt dwarfed and powerless. "I like you, Knight, despite our initial meeting."

"How lucky for me," Eric snarled sarcastically. "You only like me because I was dumb enough to sacrifice myself for the good of my people. My people, not your people!"

"That's why you're so interesting," Godric mused as his hands wandered up Eric's chest. "I have seen nothing worth saving in humans before, but you, you sacrifice yourself for them."

"Get away from me," Eric shoved Godric out of reach. "You know nothing about me. This… Whatever we do together…is not personal. I made that very clear when I agreed to it!"

Godric thought it was strange how Eric could feel one way yet react in opposite way. Vampires did not play the same games that humans did. "But I thought you wanted me," he said with a perfect expression of confusion.

"It was a trick," Eric insisted again, even as he felt Godric’s body calling to him, needing him, wanting him. He wanted to rush into Godric’s arms and feel close to him again. But Eric knew it was all part of Godric's plan and he was not going to believe those lies now. He shot the boy another meaningful, angry glare before he escaped out of the bedroom, leaving Godric to stand alone.

Godric frowned as he watched Eric leave. He knew the Prince wanted him. Even before their blood-sharing, Godric had felt their connection, like a sticky web between them. Somehow, he just needed to prove it to the stubborn human.

*

For the rest of the day, Eric could practically feel Godric swimming in his veins. He swore when he stormed out of his bedroom that morning that he would never think of the demon boy again, yet Godric consumed his thoughts all day. Eric could think of nothing but the memory of the boy's cool body against his, the taste of his blood in his mouth, and the need for more. He found himself day-dreaming during meal times as he moved his food around his plate absently, craving something much more. The unsuspecting King only laughed at him, assuming he was hung over and wondering if Eric would ever learn.

Later in the evening, the feeling only worsened. Eric’s body became feverish, his skin crawled with chills, and the emptiness ate away at the hollow walls of his stomach. That night, while the rest of the castle slept, Eric snuck into Godric's bedroom. He knew the boy would be awake at this hour.

The vampire looked up as if he had been waiting for Eric when he burst through the door. Godric was seated on the floor beside the bed with a book in his lap, open to a map of the world. Eric knew Godric couldn’t read, but the detailed picture he studied most likely fascinated him.

"I demand you to release me from this... this... curse!" Eric cried out.

Godric narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you raving about? I have not cursed you. Why do you constantly accuse me of witchcraft? Do I look like a witch to you?" His fangs snapped into place as if to prove his statement.

Eric wondered what magic he had drunk in Godric's blood to make him feel this way. Standing awkwardly, he tried to hide his shaking hands and his body's obvious restlessness. He was hungry, so hungry, but no food could satisfy him. "I am sick. You've made me sick..." Eric mumbled, not looking at Godric now as he spoke.

This time, Godric took in Eric's strained appearance and frowned. He had never given as much of his blood to anyone as he had Eric, and he hoped that it wasn't that which was affecting him. "Come here," he commanded.

"No," Eric refused after a brief moment's hesitance. He was afraid of falling into the boy's arms immediately if he got too close. He was afraid of losing everything. Eric’s was so confused from all that had happened and from his body's demands to be close to Godric.

Godric rolled his eyes and rose up gracefully from the floor. "I need to see what's wrong with you," he spoke gently as he came closer.

Eric didn't know why Godric was so focused on finding the problem and fixing it when he thought they both knew the cause. "And why should I trust you? I would be betraying my parents if I did..." he backed up away from Godric until his back hit the wall.

"I didn't kill your parents," Godric told him patiently as his eyes looked over Eric's form, taking in the shaky hands, dilated pupils, and sweat glistening on his brow. "I think I gave you too much blood. I forgot how sensitive humans can be to it. It is possible that you've become…addicted." Godric tried to find the proper English words to explain something he knew very little about.

Eric breathed irregularly at the thought of needing Godric so obviously. "No...no, that's ridiculous. I am not one of you!" he answered defensively. He didn’t know why the boy was pretending to be so concerned about him. "It's a hangover, that's all. I drank too much wine..."

"Calm down, it won't turn you," Godric scoffed, "You just need some rest. Perhaps your wizard friend can help you."

"The old buzzard is asleep by now," Eric muttered, but he would be sure to pay Marius a visit later if he lived long enough. "And...and I know you're hungry," Eric suggested almost shyly before he could stop himself. He suddenly realized then why he had really come looking for Godric tonight. He hated how Godric brought out a side of him that was unfamiliar even to himself.

Godric actually smiled at him. It was a real smile, not one filled with malice. "I can last a few days until you recover, my brave Knight, but thank you. I have gone hungry before."

"I don't believe that you will," Eric accused, and even through the fog in his head, he walked over to the bed and sat down on it. "I will stay here overnight and make sure."

Godric’s smile faded when he realized Eric assumed he was going to find another meal. "Fine. Do as you wish, since you will anyway," he sighed. Giving up, he crawled into bed beside Eric and turned onto his side with his back to the knight.

Eric stared at him, envious of the vampire’s obvious ability to relax. "Are you tired? I thought... I thought you were awake at night," he broke the silence to ask Godric tentatively. Secretly, Eric had a long list of questions he was dying to ask Godric. His curiosity was never ending.

"Well, since you humans think I should be up at dawn, I am trying to train myself to sleep at night." Godric spoke more to the wall than to Eric. "It isn’t working," he added the last bit a little reluctantly.

Eric gently lay down beside Godric on the bed and marveled at how much better he felt just from being close to the boy. "Do you tire the way we do? Do you...need to sleep?" Eric asked.

Godric felt Eric finally settle down. He smiled before he turned over so he could face his new bedmate. "Yes, but not nearly as much as humans do."

"Do you dream? Do you have nightmares?" Eric kept asking questions, and tried not to back away when Godric turned to face him. He felt a warm, pleasurable thrill run up his spine and he tried hard not to show it, even though he was sure the vampire had felt the tremor.

"Yes and yes… Why so curious?" the boy teased. "I know it is hard for humans to understand, but I am not that much different than you. Just faster and stronger with a different diet."

"I don't think you’re that much faster and stronger. I was the one that captured you in the woods, was I not?" Eric challenged, because he was a great knight and a prince and he would not allow anyone to say otherwise.

Godric frowned at that. "You caught me off guard. But I have to admit, you are a very impressive human."

"You're just saying that because you would like to eat me right now. You're hungry, and you feel it differently than we do. Right?" Eric reminded him.

"I believe our hunger is a little more all-consuming," Godric admitted as he licked his own lips hungrily. Eric was so focused on watching the gentle swipe of Godric’s tongue that he didn’t even hear the response. Before he could stop himself, Eric reached out to tentatively touch Godric’s lips with the very tips of his fingers. He wanted to explore Godric’s fangs.

Godric opened his mouth to Eric, and his tongue flicked out to lick the tip of Eric's fingers. He elongated his fangs swiftly, allowing the human to sate his curiosity. As if hypnotized, Eric reached out to touch them. They were petite to match Godric’s body, but beautifully fearsome and sharp nonetheless. Eric’s own mouth fell slack as he ran the pad of his finger over one sharpened point and sliced it accidentally. His own hunger, sparked from his addictive need for Godric's blood, drove him to bring that bleeding finger to his own mouth and suck. He was disappointed when it brought him no pleasure.

Godric quickly grabbed Eric’s hand and brought the finger to his own lips and licked off the remaining blood before more could be wasted. He moaned at the taste. "It's not the same for you, is it?" he asked when he’d finished.

Now Eric was sure that Godric was mocking him. "It's nothing," he answered honestly. Nothing compared to the sweet fire that burned in this beautiful demon's veins. He wanted Godric so badly at that moment. Eric’s chest rose and fell a bit too quickly and his cock began to harden, and he was sure the boy could sense it within some animalistic part of him.

Godric growled softly. "I would give you some more if I could.”

After that, Eric was fully hard and aching, and he desperately wanted to hear that sound again. "What do you mean, ‘if you could’?" he demanded. He was so thirsty for it now, As if Godric’s blood were a powerful drug or one of the old wizard's spells. It mattered little to Eric now that it was vampiric blood he wanted so badly.

"You cannot have anymore," Godric told him firmly. "It will drive you mad."

Eric felt a hysteric fit rise up inside of him but he swallowed it down as best as he could. "Then have me," he demanded. "It is why I am here, is it not?"

"I thought you came in here to accuse me of casting a spell on you," Godric reminded him softly. "And I'm not drinking from you tonight."

"Oh, am I not up to your standards anymore? Are you bored of my taste already? Or have you already had your dinner?" Eric jumped to conclusions, nearly driven crazy by the pulsating need inside of him.

"Calm down. There is nothing about you that bores me, I assure you," Godric said, his tone still gentle.

"Then drink," Eric insisted all over again. As a spoiled prince and chief knight to the King, he was not used to begging.

"No!" Godric yelled, losing his patience in the face of temptation. "You need to go back to your room."

When Godric lost control, something in Eric snapped. He lunged at the vampire and attacked his neck, biting down as hard as he could with his dull human teeth. The attack surprised Godric so much that he let it happen. The blunt human teeth on his throat should not have felt so good, and he moaned before he yanked Eric away by his hair.

Eric let out an animalistic growl that would have rivaled Godric's own, but his eyes did not mirror the same confidence. "I need it," Eric demanded.

"You can't have it, it's making you sick. Aren't you afraid it will turn you into a demon like me?" Godric said, trying to convince Eric to think rationally.

Eric shook his head and closed his eyes when the room began to spin. "I'm not sick. I'm more alive than I've ever been," he insisted. He wanted so badly to return to last night, when no rule existed to stop them or hold them back from one another.

Godric pushed Eric away so that he fell onto the pillows. "It's not real, what you feel," Godric told him gently. "You need to rest."

"You said it was not a spell," Eric reminded Godric. He was unable to take his eyes off of the beautiful monster next to him.

"It's not but...it's hard to explain," Godric sighed as he reached out to run his fingers through Eric’s long hair. Eric was not satisfied with that answer, and sensing that Godric desired him just as badly as he did desired Godric, he rolled over on top of the boy's smaller body and kissed him deeply. What Eric wanted, Eric usually got, and right now, he felt like he had never wanted anything so badly.

Godric was once again surprised to find himself under Eric's larger frame. He moaned into the kiss and returned it just as hungrily. Godric had never been with anyone as confident as Eric. None of the others of his kind had challenged him like this human did, and it only intrigued him further.

Eric felt the tips of Godric’s fangs against his tongue and he wasted no time before he sliced himself open to allow the vampire to taste him. Godric growled and easily switched their positions until he was pinning the human beneath him. "You are too much of a temptation," he said around their kiss.

This was a position that Eric was not used to surrendering to except when he would take an especially bold woman to his bed. And even then, he would fight her for dominance. But when Godric tossed him underneath him like he was a rag doll, Eric felt his entire body go limp willingly. At least, every part of his body but one. "We had a deal, and you're trying to break it," he accused.

"The deal was that I would not feed from anyone but you, and I won't. I can go a couple of days without blood until you heal." Godric let go of Eric and sat back as his hands explored the broad range of Eric’s chest underneath his shirt. "Have you ever been fucked?" Godric asked curiously.

Eric let those words sink in before he practically threw the boy off of him. He switched their positions yet again until he was the one on top, as if to show Godric he was still a strong, masculine warrior. "Who do you think I am?" Eric snarled at the vampire.

Godric smirked up at him. "A man that wants me to fuck him?" he teased.

Eric growled defensively again like a hungry, cornered animal. He threw himself away from the boy and a surge of emotion hit him hard. And thirst, impossible thirst that felt wrong but so right at the same time. "Fuck you, you monster!" Eric shouted loud enough to wake the entire castle.

Godric realized then that this may be a sensitive subject for the knight. "Did someone do it to you when you didn't want them too?" Godric asked. In his culture, such a thing was normal. It was a way of establishing dominance in the tribe. But perhaps humans were different.

"What? No! Do you think I'm the kind of person to let that happen?" Eric snarled. No one had ever done harm to him in that way, but that didn’t mean he was ready to lie down for another man.

Godric shrugged. "There is always someone or something who is stronger or faster," he pointed out.

Eric cocked his head, his eyes still narrowed at the boy. "Oh? And who is stronger and faster than you?"

"I'm young for a vampire," Godric answered. Being a young vampire also meant also being a weak one. "But here in your world, I am the strongest."

Eric scoffed at that. "I could take you," he insisted.

Godric raised an eyebrow and his demeanor instantly became more playful. "Want to play a game? If you can pin me down, you can ask whatever you want of me. But if I pin you, I get you."

Eric felt his muscles twitch underneath his skin, poised for battle. "What do you mean, you get me?" he challenged, because that could mean any number of things.

"I want to fuck you."

"No!" Eric snarled. He was not ready to be vulnerable to this untrustworthy creature. He shot up out of bed and wobbled unsteadily when the blood rushed from his head and he almost blacked out. He caught himself in time, but his body felt like it was wasting away to nothing.

Godric watched Eric worriedly, forgetting all about their game. "Eric, you should rest."

"I don't need to rest! What kind of cruel trick is this, to give me blood and deny it to me later when it has poisoned me!" Eric was not even making sense anymore and he was only vaguely aware of where he was.

"I'm taking you to see the wizard," Godric decided as he got out of the bed and took Eric's arm.

"What?! No!" Eric gasped. He refused to cooperate and pulled against Godric. There was no way Marius could find out about their dirty little secret. He would look right into Eric's eyes and see it all. He would see things that Eric was not even ready to see for himself.

"We have to find out what’s wrong!" Godric insisted, starting to panic as Eric swayed. "Please Eric, we won't tell him anything. Just that you’re sick," he offered.

"Let go of me!" Eric fought and twisted his arm so that Godric had no choice but to let him go. "If I am to go see Marius, I do not need to be taken there by force!"

"All right,” Godric said calmly, backing away from Eric.

Eric laughed, but there was no joy behind it. "Why are you worried? You're the one that did this to me. I know you are far from the beautiful angel you appear to be..."

Godric shook his head. "I never meant for it to go this far, I never wanted to hurt you," he said honestly before he realized what else Eric had said. "You think I am beautiful?"

"It's a good disguise, but I don't believe it like the rest of this kingdom." Eric tried to take back his words. He was not going to Marius. The wizard would discover everything. "You could heal me, right here, if you would just stop being cruel..." Eric pleaded. He felt like he would die without Godric.

"If I were cruel, I would be giving you more blood, not knowing what it would do to you!" Godric finally snapped. He was tired of Eric accusing him of things he was not.

Eric was a strong warrior, but he never felt as overwhelmed as he did now. He put his face in his hands and listened to the sound of his own ragged breathing.

Godric’s surprised himself with his own heart break at the sight of the shattered human. He came closer and cautiously reached out to remove the knight's hands from his face. "What can I do to help you?"

"You know what you can do," Eric spat without hesitation. His eyes focused lustfully on Godric’s neck and then down to his wrist. That sweet flood of ecstasy lay just below the surface.

Godric still felt uncertain, but the desire to give Eric whatever he wanted was now too hard to ignore. "Just a little, then," Godric whispered. "But you must promise that you will go see the wizard immediately after."

"God, yes, anything." Eric did not even listen to all of what was said, only picking out the part he wanted to hear. He grabbed the vampire’s wrist, bringing it to his mouth and biting at the soft flesh viciously. Godric hissed and jerked his hand away.

"Let me do it, your human teeth are made for tearing, not piercing," he growled as his fangs snapped into place. He bit into his own wrist. Eric latched onto the wound immediately and suckled noisily at the open flesh. Godric bit down hard on his own lip to stifle a moan. He reminded himself that he needed to stay in control. "That's enough,” he jerked his arm away after Eric had just had a few sips.

It was not enough. It was not even close to being enough. Overcome with blood-lust, Eric grabbed Godric's wrist. It was still bleeding freely and he held onto it tighter than ever as he gulped down more of the hot liquid. The boy growled and pushed Eric way a little more harshly than he intended. "I said that's enough!" he yelled.

Eric was thrown across the room so hard that he blacked out. His head hit the wall, and this time, he tasted blood that was his own. In the dream that followed, he floated down a red river of lust and ecstasy.


	6. Chapter 6

What seemed like hours later, Eric slowly opened his eyes. He inhaled deeply and was shaken back to consciousness by something foul smelling. Above him, Marius withdrew the bottle that he had wafted under Eric’s nose. "What..." Eric trailed off, realizing suddenly that he was in the wizard's room and Godric was with them.

The vampire stood, hurried over to the bed, and visibly relaxed when he saw that Eric seemed okay. "You have a concussion Eric, I need you to drink this," Marius ordered, handing the Prince a cup of something steamy.

"What's a concussion?" Godric asked quietly as he watched Eric drink.

"It's what happens when little vampire boys lose their tempers and send humans flying into the walls," Marius said in a stern voice that made Godric feel chastised for his behavior. He looked away from the humans and stared down at his hands as they fiddled with the blanket on the bed.

Eric could not focus and was still very tired. "What happened..." he asked hesitantly, not remembering a thing.

“You hit your head too hard...with a little help," Marius added with another look towards the vampire boy. Godric climbed up onto the bed beside Eric, his savage upbringing not allowing him to realize how intimate the move was. "I'm sorry, Eric. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said sincerely.

Eric was suddenly sharp as a tack when he realized how close Godric was to him and he scooted as far away as he could. He didn’t want Marius to get any ideas, but he knew the wizard was no fool. "How could you have not meant to hurt me? You hurled me across the room," Eric accused.

Godric frowned at that. He looked from Marius back to Eric, not knowing what to say. "Godric, why don't you go back to your room? I wish to speak to Eric for a moment," the wizard finally said, but Godric just narrowed his eyes at him. His instinct told him not to leave Eric's side while he was hurt. He growled, but the old man just smiled.

"Eric is more than capable of looking after himself now that he's awake," Marius assured him gently, but Godric just looked back at Eric as if to ask if it were true. "Eric, tell Godric you are better now," the wizard said, still using that gentle tone of voice as if he were calming a wild animal.

"What?" Eric asked through the fog that clouded his mind. "I'm better now," he said to no one in particular and he settled back down on the bed.

Godric didn't look happy about it, but he left and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Marcus turned to Eric. "You need to drink this every day that he feeds from you," he said, handing Eric a red, glass bottle. "You should have come to me sooner, you foolish boy. I could have helped you."

Eric opened his eyes again to give the wizard a startled look. "That he... feeds from me? Marius, what are you talking about? You heard what happened. The little imp slammed my head against the wall. Did you hit your head, too? Or have you gotten into father's wine cellar again?" Eric looked at Marius suspiciously.

"I've been watching him. Human food never reaches his lips. He just pushes the food around his plate. I knew he was feeding, I just didn't know from whom until I started to realize... While I was watching the boy, the boy was watching you."

"You're imagining things, you old bat. I snuck into his room to make sure he was still there. I've been trying to figure out exactly who he had been feeding on, just like you, but he was awake and he attacked me," he lied.

Marius rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to me Eric, you forget I can see through it. Now, just do as I instructed and you will be fine,” he said sternly, and took a deep breath before he added. “But on other matters, Lord Ravencroft has requested a more stable alliance with our King. He wants you to marry his daughter, Pamela. Your father was going to give you the news tomorrow, but I feel you should know now."

At first, Eric was speechless and just stared blankly at him. Initially, he assumed it was a crude joke, but the wizard had never been able to tell one with such a stone sober expression. "But I'm not even a legitimate son of the King. I was adopted! Why doesn't he send Liam off to marry the witch? I know he's skinny as a twig and a pitiful excuse for a man, but at least he is of true royal blood," Eric pointed out. Eric loved living as royalty and having everything he wanted, but he did not want the responsibility of one day leading the kingdom. He didn’t want to give up his life of freedom, fighting, women, and drinking.

"Prince Liam has had an arranged marriage set up for him since he was seven years old. He is to marry Lady Jessica when she comes of age. That's why the King wants you to marry Pamela. He wants one of you in a stable relationship, and you and I both know that there is nothing stable about Liam. He will be caught cheating as soon as he marries the girl," Marius sighed. “With you, however, it will just be an alliance."

Eric scoffed at that. "Oh, does the King think I am going to be more loyal to my bride? This is ridiculous. He cannot make me do such a thing. Does he have a future bride for Godric as well? After all, he's the one that will be crowned king…" Eric did not know why the thought of Godric being married off angered him so. He wouldn’t be able to keep his secret from any wife.

"It is too soon to be considering such things for Godric. We need him to be better educated and learn that throwing humans around is not permitted," Marius said. “Eric, nothing has to change. You marry the girl and we will set her up with rooms here in the castle. You need only be polite to her. Just think about it and be open-minded when Philip brings it up with you tomorrow. Now, off to your own bed. You have an eventful day tomorrow. Godric starts his tutoring sessions and you need to make sure he doesn't eat his teacher."

"Tutoring? The little imp is smarter than any tutor, and no one knows it. No one knows the truth. Will they ever?" Eric challenged.

"I thought you said he was nothing more than an animal," Marius remarked with a knowing smile. "Eric, we don't know anything about the boy. As far as I know, the vampires do not have a written language. Godric knows how to read people and situations, but I doubt he even knows how to read or write."

Eric knew the old man had a point, but he was not quite willing to admit it. He glared as he snatched up the red bottle and stumbled painfully out of the room. He had been injured many times in his life, but it was not every day that he met someone able to hurl him against the wall with a simple flick of the wrist.

He collapsed into his own bed a few minutes later, but when he closed his eyes, he saw red. He still wanted it, even when the pain in his head should have sobered him out of his bloodlust. He glared at the bottle of mysterious liquid he had placed on his bedside table and reached for it to take a long, deep draught.

He barely even heard the door creaking open before he suddenly had a vampire boy in his bed, too close for most human's comfort. Eric jumped and nearly hit his head again. "I was worried about you," Godric said, as if that explained why he was making himself comfortable. He was already snuggling under the covers as if he had no intention of leaving.

"What are you doing?" Eric demanded, but his head swayed uncomfortably and he closed his eyes against the pain.

"I needed to make sure you were all right and I want to make sure you rested well," Godric said, laying his head down on the pillow as if it were his own. "I don't understand how you humans sleep on such softness."

Eric made no move to get away from Godric and blamed it on his exhaustion. "What are used to sleeping on? Stone? Mud?"

"Straw, mostly," Godric said, reaching out to brush Eric's hair away from his eyes. "Straw, the same color as your hair."

Eric was too tired and his head pounded too heavily to protest. "Do you know how to read or write?"

"No, why would I?" Godric furrowed his brows in confusion. "Those are human things."

"Well, everyone thinks you are human. Not only will we one day have a demonic vampire as king... but it will be an illiterate demon vampire king," Eric sighed, half-asleep already.

Godric snuggled up close to him, taking advantage of his pliant mood, and laid his head on Eric’s chest to listen to Eric’s heartbeat. "You are delusional. I am not going to be king."

Eric did not hear him because he was already asleep. Godric gave the sleeping human a worried look before he settled down again on Eric’s chest and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.

*

Eric slowly opened his eyes before the dawn had a chance to break and it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was hunger that had woken him. It was a supernatural hunger, one that made human famine feel like nothing a simple pang. He looked to the sleeping form of Godric beside him and the feeling only intensified. Spellbound, Eric tentatively reached out to brush his fingers against Godric’s soft, parted lips.

Most full-blooded vampires could not be woken during the day unless it was a life-or-death situation and their instincts kicked in. Godric, on the other hand, could function during the day, but it still took a lot of effort to actually wake him. So when Eric touched him, he didn't move a muscle. His slumber was deep and peaceful.

Asleep like this, Eric thought that to the unknowing eye, Godric looked like an innocent child. Yet he could practically hear that red, liquid magic running through Godric’s veins, calling to him. Eric dropped his face down to the vampire's neck to inhale his scent and practiced nibbling on the softer flesh there as if he could will a pair of little fangs to appear.

Godric automatically tilted his head to the side and Eric froze and prepared himself to be thrown across the room again. But when the blow did not come, he realized that the vampire was still very much asleep. Eric’s heart raced, feeling like he was in the lion's den with the sleeping beast. He focused hungrily down to the boy’s wrist and watched the blue veins twisting just underneath the surface of his pale skin. Eric exhaled and nibbled there softly, willing the flesh to open.

He remembered the small knife he always slept with under his pillow, and slowly slipped the blade from underneath Godric’s head before he even knew what he was doing. He removed his lips from the softest part of Godric’s wrist only long enough to slide the knife across the flesh, opening up a flood of red that he immediately latched onto to. Eric suckled noisily, gulping it down as fast as he could.

At first, it was panic that woke Godric. But when he realized what was happening and who it was that was feeding from him, he opened his mouth to protest, but only a loud moan escaped. "Eric, no," he tried to say.

Eric ignored him and continued to suckle the wound, his erection raging as he filled his body with liquid fire. It was a few moments before the vampire finally jerked his arm away from Eric's grasp, but by that time, Eric had already taken his fill. He lay on his back, swooning and panting for air as his body burst with life.

"You cannot keep doing that," Godric whispered as he licked some of his own blood off of Eric's red lips.

"Why not? The wizard gave me an elixir to make me better. You can take it back if you want to, you can bite me and drink your blood back..." he rambled, intoxicated off Godric’s blood and only half-conscious now.

"It does not work like that," Godric whispered as he laid kisses down the knight’s neck.

"Why not? Makes sense to me... mmm, bite me there," Eric’s pleaded, turning his head to give Godric better access to that throbbing vein in his neck.

"No," Godric refused, but he did swipe his tongue over the spot. "I have to go to my room before someone realizes I am missing."

Eric couldn’t bear the thought of Godric leaving this bed without drinking from him. "Please," he whispered softly. He could think of nothing else to say.

"No, Eric. You are just now feeling better. I won't compromise that. Besides, we need to get up."

"I am up," Eric sighed, not allowing his eyes to open yet.

Godric raised an eyebrow and looked down at the tented sheet above Eric’s hips. "I see that."

Eric, still deep in a swoon, reached down to touch himself intimately and thought about Godric as if he were not right beside him telling him he had to leave.

Godric grabbed his hand before it could reach his erection. "You can't do that with me in here."

"For a feral animal that I captured out of the woods, you sure act reserved," Eric muttered, planning on going right back to what he was about to do as soon as the boy let go of him.

"That's why you cannot do that. I might do something you wouldn't want. I have problems restraining myself around you," Godric explained, his fangs sharp.

"That isn't true. You have been excellent at holding yourself back from me. You are thirsty and you need to feed, I can tell just by looking at you..." Eric protested.

"I don't want you to get hurt," the vampire confessed quietly.

Eric closed his eyes and listened to Godric speak, his voice like smooth velvet to his nerves. "I cannot be that important to you. We are rivals," Eric said simply, as if it made all the sense in the world.

"I don't care. I want to keep you all for myself. I heard a rumor that you are getting married," Godric said quietly, bringing up something that had been weighing heavily on his mind.

"No, I'm not. It's my father's stupid idea. I don't have to go along with it," Eric scoffed. "You’re hungry. We had an agreement. If you are to be king, you have to learn to keep your word."

Godric frowned. "I'm not going to be king, so it doesn't matter."

"I would assume you would want to jump at a chance to take over the human race," the knight shrugged. He could go back to sleep right here, right now, drunk and sedated off of Godric’s blood which held the secret to life itself.

"I just want one human.”

Eric sighed. "It's wrong," was all he could say to that. His eyes were still closed. "We are meant to be brothers, after all."

"We are not blood, so why is it wrong?" Godric questioned.

"We are blood," Eric whispered, still delirious as the vampire’s blood swam through his. "Your kind and my kind are not meant to intermix… our worlds are different, even if you are half-human."

"The fact that I am alive proves that you are wrong. We can coexist," Godric told him.

"We are not meant to. Your kind killed my family," Eric reminded Godric for what felt like the hundredth time. He knew it was not that simple, but it was so firmly engrained in his head.

"Yet, you still want me.”

Eric could not deny that even if he wanted to. "Perhaps the same cruel joke your mother played on the king," he accused.

Godric growled, and releasing the animal within, he slapped Eric hard across the face. "Don't speak about things you cannot possibly understand!"

At first, Eric was simply too shocked to do anything, but when the sting of pain faded, anger consumed him. "You have no right to strike me!" he shouted before he reached to grab his knife and waved it in front of the vampire’s face. "I swear, I will rip you to shreds!"

"You had no right to speak about my mother like that!" Godric cried right back, ignoring Eric's threat completely. "I do not speak badly of your dead parents!"

Eric opened his mouth to allow more profanities to spout forth, but before he could, Marius’ stern voice interrupted their shouting match and surprised them both. The knight instinctively flew out of his own bed as if he didn’t want Marius to know they had spent the night together, but the wizard gave them both a look to tell them he was not fooled.

"Gentlemen! Eric, I see that your head has healed. I know this because if you were still concussed, you would never be able to stand the volume of your voice when it bellows through the castle," the old man chastised him.

"It does bellow," Godric agreed with a smirk in Eric's direction. But when Marius turned to give him a look, he quickly frowned.

"And you were supposed to be at your lessons by now. Go to your room and dress quickly," Marius ordered.

Godric only narrowed his eyes at the human. He didn’t like being ordered around by these mortals. "I need no lessons," he said stubbornly.

Eric scoffed at that. There was only room for one brat prince in this castle as far as he was concerned. "You think you are King already? I don't know where you come from, you animal, but here, you don't get to do what you want, here you-"

"Eric Alexander Northman, silence yourself right now," demanded Marius, and it stopped Eric immediately. He looked down to the floor in anger. "You have a mouth that tends to get you into trouble. That is why your home is on the battlefield, not on the throne."

Godric left the room without a backward glance at either of them. Eric’s words had stung, though he fought hard not to show it.

He would prove to him that he was no animal.

"You hurt his feelings, Eric. He is just a boy, like you were once, stolen from his home and everything he knows and shoved into fancy clothes and forced to live as something he is not. He lost his family too. I'd think you would understand what he is going through and be a little nicer," Marius corrected him.

"Yes, sir," Eric whispered to the ground.

Godric went back to his room and found a servant waiting for him there to help him dress. Once he was properly clothed, the same servant led him to the room where generations of princes and princesses had been given their education. But when Godric met his human tutor, he knew his first lesson would not end well.


	7. Chapter 7

The tutor slowly approached Godric with a skeptical eye. "So you are the little one everyone has been stirring up a fuss about. You look little more than a baby," he mused.

Godric frowned at that. "I am no baby," he growled. He didn’t like being called little, either, but he decided not to mention it. He wanted to prove to Eric that he could be more than an animal, after all. He wanted to show him that he could learn these human acts.

The tutor continued to eye him suspiciously. "How well do you know the English language, young man? And who taught you to speak?" he challenged.

"My mother taught me to speak it," Godric answered simply.

"Yes, I have heard about your mother..." The man spoke in a way that made Godric's cold skin crawl.

*

"No, you stupid boy, that is not how it is done!"

Eric heard the tutor shouting soon after he decided to press his ear to the door to eavesdrop. He had never known a tutoring session to go on for as long as this, so naturally, he became insatiably curious. But when Eric heard the tutor's violent voice booming through the room, he gripped his fists in anger.

It was the fifth quill that Godric had broken in the past thirty minutes. He had never practiced writing before, and with his powerful vampire strength, the flimsy tools snapped in his nervous hands. "I am sorry... They just keep breaking," he tried, but his own voice barely carried over the tutor’s. He couldn't do this after all. Eric was right. He was nothing more than an animal. In fact, he was starting to fantasize about sinking his fangs into this man’s neck and drinking him dry. Behind his lips, his fangs snapped into place, ready for a kill. He was starting to get frustrated.

Another snap of a quill, and Eric heard a heavy growl that he knew did not come from the vampire. "You imbecile!" he heard the tutor shout again. "Do you know how much these quills cost?! You are not worth my time! If you ask me, the King has made a horrible choice investing in you!"

That was when something inside Eric snapped too, and nothing could hold him back. "Hey!" he shouted as he came storming into the room. "You do not talk to a son of the King that way!"

The tutor didn't turn around to see who had interrupted them before he spoke. "The bastard son of the King," he corrected before he finally turned to face the Prince. Godric’s fangs retracted instantly as he stared in surprise.

"You may have been here long enough to tutor Liam and me, but if you don't walk away from Prince Godric now, I will make sure he is the last student you will ever have!"

"But my Lord, the boy is an idiot. I cannot be expected to teach such a child!" the tutor insisted. He couldn't believe Eric had the nerve to tell him off.

"Then you shall not teach him! Be gone before I draw my sword and cut out that vile tongue of yours!" Eric shouted, placing his hand delicately over his sword by his side. The tutor had known Eric since he was adopted by the King as a young boy, and he knew far too well how unpredictable and violent he could be. The look in Eric’s eyes told him that he just might do it.

"We'll see what your father has to say about this-"

"My father would pull out his sword if he heard the way you spoke to his family!" Eric shouted, and this time, it stunned the tutor into silence. After a few quiet, tense moments, the old man huffed and stood up. He grabbed his things and shot Godric and Eric one last glare before he stomped angrily out of the room.

Eric had to admit that over the years he had held a lot of resentment towards the man. Eric had been a student of his as well, after all. For a moment, the room was perfectly silent again before Godric finally spoke. "You should not have done that. He was right. I am stupid. I cannot write the words on the paper," he muttered, glaring down at the desk.

Eric's expression softened and he removed his hand from his sword. "Yes, you can," he whispered. He moved to sit down in the chair next to Godric where the tutor had been seated. He looked down at the scribbles of letters and words and the mess of broken quills. "You just have to be gentler."

"I'm not good at being gentle," Godric admitted sadly watched Eric delicately take up the last unbroken quill.

"Nor am I, but I can still write." Eric wrote Godric's name on the paper before he slowly positioned the quill in the other boy's hand and covered it with his own. "I'll show you how.”

Godric watched Eric closely as he wrote smoothly across the paper. "What does it say?" he asked in amazement.

To get a better angle, Eric moved to sit directly behind Godric and secretly closed his eyes to deeply inhale his scent as his hand gently guided the boy to spell his name over and over again. "What do you think it says? Do you recognize the letters?"

Godric looked down at the heavy black ink. He could feel Eric’s heat against him and it was distracting. He turned his head to look at Eric and was surprised by how close their faces now were. "I do not know."

Eric quickly opened his eyes when he felt Godric turn to face him. "It's your name," he said, taking Godric’s hand and writing it his name again and again, giving the boy's hand a feel for the motion of it.

"My name?" Godric asked. Their lips were so close now. He could almost taste Eric.

"Yes," Eric whispered, and as if their lips were magnetized to one another, he leaned in to kiss Godric and heard the last quill snapping under their grip. Godric moaned and turned in his seat as far as he could to kiss Eric more deeply.

Eric broke the kiss soon after his mind caught up with the rest of him and he realized what he was doing. He shuddered when he felt Godric's blood still lighting up his own veins and making him stronger than he had ever been before. What would he be like in battle, now? Would he be half-monster, driven by the primal animal that had taken over his body?

"Now you should try it on your own." Eric let go of the vampire's hand and focused on the paper instead of the boy's swollen, full lips.

Godric had to blink a few times to force himself to concentrate on what Eric had asked. "Right," he said, holding the broken quill in his hand as he messily attempted to write.

Eric looked down at the very shaky, child-like scrawl of Godric's name. He would improve, but now, it seemed like it was just against his nature to write anything at all. Eric tried to ignore the taste of Godric on his lips as he stared down at the paper and took the quill back into his own hand. "What does this spell?" he asked as he wrote his own name.

Godric looked down and smiled as he recognized the 'ric' from his own name. "It's your name."

Eric was a little surprised and thought that perhaps the boy had just made a lucky guess. "What is this, then?" he challenged as he wrote down the word "Northman".

Godric looked down at the written word and frowned. "I don't know."

Eric was not the best teacher in the world, mostly because patience had never been one of his virtues. As a spoiled and favored son of the King and unmerciful knight on the battlefield, Eric had little tolerance for teaching anyone anything. Yet he would try as long as he could lay his hand across Godric’s and breathe in his scent.

Until, of course, King Philip came raging into the room. "Eric, why did you dismiss the tutor?!" he demanded.

Godric looked between the King and Eric worriedly, afraid that Eric would be in some sort of trouble because of him. "It was my fault. I kept breaking the quills, but Eric showed me how to do it right," he announced to his father, holding up the paper they had been practicing on as proof.

That caused the King's anger to melt and his expression to soften almost immediately. He smiled gently and walked over to his son. The boy appeared so innocent, even though Philip knew he was far from it. He reached out to cup Godric’s face in his palm with all the lovingness of a father. "You're a very smart boy," he said affectionately.

Godric had to force himself not to flinch away from the touch and gave his father a hesitant smile. "Eric is a good teacher."

Eric glared angrily at the attention Godric received. He had always been the King's favorite son and it was hard for him to realize that he was no longer the focus of Philip’s devotion. "I hope he is an even better brother to you, my child. And I hope to be a good father," the King smiled down at the boy.

Godric could feel Eric's anger as if it was his own, but he didn't understand it. He nodded to his human father as the King's hand slid away from his face. "Continue with your handwriting practice, Godric," he ordered, and Godric obediently picked up the broken quill.

Once he was sure the vampire was preoccupied, Philip turned to the knight. "Eric, Lord Ravencroft is coming to the palace today. I've heard word that his armies are now just as strong as ours. I want to continue to ensure his allegiance to me, and the only way to do that is through the joining of our houses."

Eric’s eyes turned dark. He should have known this conversation was coming. "I'm sure Liam would be happy with a wife, maybe you should ask him instead. I don't have an ounce of royal blood in me, it would mean nothing, Father," he tried to protest calmly even though his blood was boiling just under his skin.

"Liam has been betrothed to another since birth. I need to make this alliance, Eric. He is my second cousin and thinks he has a right to the throne. And now, has an army big enough to challenge me," the King said, reaching forward to take his son’s hand. "You are my son in every way but blood and as your father I have every right to ask this of you."

"The size of his army is just a rumor. And as your son, I have every right to refuse," Eric muttered, because he knew his father's soft spot was his biggest vulnerability. Because of this, Eric had always been able to get what he wanted out of his father with just the right tone of voice.

"I have let you have your way your entire life, but this I am not asking. You will marry Pamela Ravencroft," the King commanded.

Eric was surprised by his father's sudden sternness. He was scared of a war, it was clear in his eyes. He did not want to force his son to do anything, but he was afraid. "I would make a terrible husband. I am not going to give her my loyalty. And I am certainty not giving her a child!" Eric snapped.

"I'm not asking you to be loyal to her. I am asking you to marry her. Continue whoring around with anyone you want for all I care. And as for a child, that is up to you." the King shrugged indifferently, and Godric gave up on pretending not to listen to the conversation.

"Must Eric mate with her?" he asked boldly. There was no marriage in vampire culture. One either had a single mate, had lovers, or had both.

The King turned to give Godric a confused stare. "Son, in our culture, men and women do not 'mate'. We have sex. And she is a beautiful woman so there is no reason for Eric not to want her.”

Godric frowned in confusion from the political games that went along with human union. "So if Eric married her, he could still have sex with others even if they too were also married?" he asked. "I don't understand the point of marriage, then."

"There is no point to marriage!" Eric practically shouted.

"Silence, Eric!" The King shouted before he turned back to Godric. "In a marriage, it is expected that the man and woman remain loyal to one another. However, this world does not seem to always work like that. A happy marriage is hard to come by these days," he tried to explain. He himself had never been faithful to his wife. That was how Godric had been born, after all.

"Is the same expected when and man marries a man or a woman marries another woman?" Godric asked naively.

Eric tried to stifle a smile at that, but Philip just stared at his son while clearly at a loss for words. He knew that bringing this boy from the savage forest and into the human world would be no easy task, but he never expected this. "Son, that is not the way of humans. Men do not marry men, and women do not marry women. Only a woman and a man can procreate."

Godric looked over at Eric, but the knight was too lost in his own inner turmoil to notice. "Humans are strange," Godric decided out loud.

Eric was silent for a moment before he decided to speak. "Men still lay with men. Women still lay with women. In my opinion, it shouldn't matter who you marry," he told them both defiantly.

The King sighed. "That it is not the way of the world. Some things must be kept in the shadows and that is one of them."

Eric avoided eye contact, especially with Godric. The King smiled at his vampire son and sat down on the tutor's stool. "Now, son, show me what you have learned," he coaxed Godric. "Eric, put on something attractive. You are a knight ready to meet his beautiful Princess, for heaven's sake.”

Godric thought Eric looked beautiful just the way he was, but he knew enough about humans now to know that it was sometimes better to keep such thoughts to himself.

Meanwhile, Liam happened to be walking by at that exact moment and immediately stopped to watch his father helping his bastard son with something that looked like homework. The King never spent that kind of time with him, not even when he himself was learning letters. Liam was suddenly filled with a jealous rage. Now, not only did he have to compete with the other boy for the throne, but for his father's love as well.

Eric grumbled something incoherent and walked away, leaving the King with Godric. He took a step out through the door and into the hall, and nearly ran into Liam in the process. It startled them both. "Watch where you're going, you twit, or I'll tell Father I caught you spying," Eric hissed at his brother before he stomped off.

"They seem to be getting along well," Liam mused as he followed after Eric like a lost puppy. "I don't understand why he chooses to show his affection to that bastard boy."

"And you're clearly jealous," Eric shot back at him. "Don't worry, you still have Mummy who will wipe the dribble from your chin and tell you that you are her favorite brave, handsome prince."

Liam glared. "Do you want that boy on the throne? He can't even write his own name! At least you and I were raised to lead our people."

"Of course I do not want him on the throne. Any more than I want you there," Eric growled. He wished his father was blessed with the gift of immortality so he could then lead their people until the end of the world. His father was a good king and it scared Eric to death thinking of him falling ill and dying or handing over the crown to another in retirement.

"I am the rightful heir to the throne!" Liam snapped. "It is my birth right! You are nothing more than an orphan that my father felt sorry for."

Eric knew better than to let anything Liam said get to him. Instead, he just smiled as if his brother had said something funny. It was then that he remembered how easy it was to play with the other prince’s soft, simple mind. "Whatever lets you sleep at night, Brother. But listen. I will be your ally if you need one. Even if you are a pathetic excuse for a man, at least you are not a savage." This way, if Liam decided to hurt Godric, Eric would know about it. The idiot would never know Eric would work against him instead.

Liam grinned when he thought he had got what he wanted. "This pathetic excuse for a man will be your king one day. It would be in your best interest to remember that."

" I'll make sure to remember it," Eric snickered. He knew the day would never come for Liam to take the crown. Not only was it not part of the wizard’s prophecy, but it was unthinkable. His father may as well give an infant the kingdom.

*

Godric fidgeted uncomfortably in the restricting clothes that his servants had dressed him in. He was used to being naked on warm nights and half-clothed in deer skin during colder one. But here, it was as if humans were ashamed of what they were. It was as if they were ashamed of their own sexuality and hid themselves in layers and layers of itchy fabric.

And he didn’t understand all this formality as they waited for Eric's future bride to arrive.

The King looked over at Godric as he fidgeted restlessly. Philip saw Godric’s mother in his eyes and secretly wished for her once again. "It must have been hard for you, son. To come from such a different world. I can only imagine the transition you have had to make. I wish beyond anything else that I did not have to do it," he sighed as he stared off into nothingness, deep in thought. "But you are doing so well and I am already so proud. Maybe the time will come when you too will take a wife."

Godric growled at the thought. He glared as he sat impatiently waiting for Eric’s impending doom. "I do not like women. I prefer men," he said bluntly. Liam, who was seated beside him, choked on his wine.

The King also was visibly startled and stared at his son in confusion. He was afraid he would never truly understand this boy. If he didn’t know any better, he would have a hard time believing Godric was his son at all. "What is so terrible about women?" he asked, and Eric had to turn his head away to hide a smirk.

Godric shrugged. "Nothing in particular. I just prefer men."

The King decided then, once he got over his initial shock, that he didn’t care so much. It was not uncommon in his kingdom to see men with other men, and occasionally, even women with other women. Yet, as a prince, Godric had a duty. "Men will not bear you children. The royal bloodline is very important, Godric," King Philip told him, and Eric continued to hold back his laughter.

"You have another son that can carry on your bloodline just fine," the vampire pointed out as he gave Eric a glare for snickering.

At that, Eric could not help but say something. "I think Liam likes it up the ass, too." He bit his grin, trying not to break out into full laughter.

“Take that back you mindless brute!” Liam squealed instead. Liam gasped and stood up to draw his sword, but the King held up his hand to put an end to it.

"I never said I liked that." Godric pointed out quietly, but just then, the doors opened and Marius entered the palace with a fat, wealthy-looking man beside him.

"My King, may I present Lord Ravencroft and his daughter, Lady Pamela," he announced as a strikingly beautiful blonde woman walked in.

Godric instantly hated her.

Eric knew what the King looked like. He had been expecting his daughter to look like him: fat and ugly. But when he looked up and saw a woman beautiful beyond his wildest expectations, he was surprised. It made standing up to greet her much easier.

King Philip watched Eric and seemed pleased. He knew that the girl's beauty would win his son over. Maybe she would even tame his wild, warrior heart. He knew that one of Eric's only weaknesses was for beauty.

Eric kneeled and gently kissed her outstretched hand. "My Lady."

"My Lord," Pamela said politely as she extended her pale, soft hand for Eric to kiss. The knight smiled genuinely at his wife-to-be. This could work out just fine as long as she knew that there would still be no loyalty between them.

Liam heard what he thought was a growl coming from Godric's direction and he turned to stare at the boy strangely.

"Well, now, my King, I think we should give the children some time alone to get to know each other. What do you say we sit down and have a conversation of our own?" King Philip suggested, walking over to Lord Ravencroft and slapping him on the back as if they were age-old friends.

Godric almost startled when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "I'll chaperone them," Marius offered as he gently led Godric out of the room and the others followed. "Perhaps we should go out into the courtyard and get some fresh air."

Godric did not like that idea. This human woman and Eric would be allowed to walk in the secluded gardens that surrounded the courtyard while he would be stuck with the wizard and Liam.

Ignoring Godric, Eric bristled. He was far from a child and did not need a chaperone. "I don't need a babysitter, I do not want someone following us!" he demanded.

Pam raised her eyebrows at her future husband's short, unpredictable temper and smiled. She wasn't worried. There was no way he would talk to her like that. She may be a woman, but she would never let a man dominate her.

Marius raised an eyebrow at Eric’s outburst. "I merely meant I would keep your brothers entertained while you and the Lady visit the gardens," he said calmly, his hand still firm on Godric's shoulder as if to hold him back.

Pam was startled by the glare she was receiving from Godric. She hadn’t noticed the boy before. He was beautiful in a very exotic way, like he was from the pages of a fairy tale. She wondered why he was looking at her the way that he was.

*

The sun was shining brightly in the late afternoon and it took all the strength Godric had not to flinch back into the dim light of the castle when the doors to the courtyard gardens were opened. Marius seemed to notice and stepped to the side to immerse the boy in his wide shadow.

Liam, however, was already out the door and immediately reached for a pair of wooden practice swords. "Come on, Brother. We can spar while Eric's on his little date," he spat snidely with obvious jealousy of his own. Eric was getting married before him, after all.

Godric ignored the other boy completely. "I want to go with Eric," he said quietly instead, but he was already being led him away from the betrothed pair.

"Eric and Pam need some time to get to know each other," the wizard told Godric gently.

Marius led Godric to walk with a gentle hand around his shoulder. "And you will learn the ways of the sword as any young prince, but Liam is a terrible teacher," he shot a look at Liam before they walked away. "Now, little one, why do you wish to be with Eric? It is very important that he bonds with Lady Pamela," Marius questioned quietly, already knowing the answer.

Because Eric belongs to me, Godric thought to himself, but otherwise, he remained silent.

"I know you have given him your blood, and have taken his. Know that she will never be able to give him what he needs. She is young and beautiful and Eric will grow to love her, yes, but not the way that... Well, let's just say he likes you better." The wizard chuckled warmly. "Does the sunlight bother you, Child? I am afraid you have to get used to it if you plan on staying with us."

Godric watched as the new couple disappeared into the garden. He was surprised at how much the old wizard knew, but then again, wizards always knew too much. "I am fine," Godric answered. If he got to watch the sunlight reflecting off of Eric's hair, he could defiantly grow to love the sun.

*

"Is the King's youngest son always so possessive of you?" Pam asked Eric curiously as they walked leisurely. She was also thinking that maybe this marriage could actually work as long as they both knew their place in each other’s lives. After all, she was being forced into this just as much as Eric was.

"What do you mean by that?" Eric asked as he walked with his hands clutched behind his back in a gentlemanly manner that he tended to use only for first appearances.

"He was glaring daggers at me in the hall," Pam pointed out. "You really didn't notice?"

Eric swallowed nervously, knowing that it must have been pretty obvious if the Princess had noticed. "No," he answered honestly. "Perhaps he is just jealous that I have found myself such a beauty." Eric tried to ease any suspicions she might have, but he could not look her in the eye.

Pam sighed. "My Lord, I want us to be honest with one another. I have never had any inclination to be married. You are a very handsome man and I already have growing affection for you. But there is no reason why we cannot live our married lives as brother and sister instead of husband and wife. Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked hesitantly.

Eric was taken off guard. He was a little put off, simply because he was not used to being rejected. No girl had ever turned him down. "And why is that?" he asked defensively.

Pam stopped walking and turned to face him. "I prefer the company of women."

Eric took a moment to digest that and knew that she was telling the truth. No woman in their right mind could refuse him, after all. "And not even an incredibly handsome warrior like me could change your mind?" he challenged playfully with a mischievous smile.

Pam laughed warmly. "If my mind could be changed, I'm sure you would be the one to do it."

"Ah, that must count for something," Eric smiled up to the heavens. "I'm afraid I've already had most of the women in this kingdom," he teased lightly, and pointedly not leading onto the fact that he had a secret of his own.

"Good, then you can warn me of the crazy ones," Pam grinned, thankful that they had reached an understanding.

*

Meanwhile, Liam had finally caught up to Godric. He threw one of the wooden swords in Godric’s direction and was visibly surprised when the boy swiftly turned to catch it. "Come on brother, let's see how good you are,” he taunted.

Marius sighed. He knew he should not be trying to protect Godric from anything. This was one of the many lessons the boy would have to learn. "Try not to hurt him too badly, Little One." Marius tried to hold back a chuckle as he whispered to Godric before walking off to his own garden of herbs.

Godric glared at Liam. Liam knew he knew nothing about how to use a sword, but Godric’s very body was a weapon. "You are a coward!" Liam finally yelled in frustration when Godric’s sword just hung loose at his side. It was then that the young vampire charged.

A minute later, Godric had disarmed Liam and had sat on top of his chest, using his legs to pin the larger man’s flailing arms down as he watched Liam struggle pitifully. "Marius, get the little beast off of me!" Liam yelled, but Marius ignored his whining and held back laughter. Instead, he picked his herbs and hummed to himself.

Eric and Pam, however, both turned in the direction of Liam's high-pitched squeals and Pam raised an eyebrow at the sight in the distance. "Your brother is very strange. I do not mean to offend, but I have heard stories about him. I heard that he is a bastard son of the King but has lived most of his life as an orphan peasant in the forest."

Eric said nothing as he glared at Liam, who had obviously tried and failed to hurt Godric. It took all his strength not to bear his teeth and come stomping after him with a sword of his own. When Pam looked at Eric then, her expression changed. "You adore him," she smiled in amusement, finally understanding. "In a way that is not very brotherly."

Godric bent low over the struggling, weak body of Liam and couldn't help but inhale the sweet scent of blood. He hadn’t fed from Eric while he was recovering and he was suddenly starving. Godric felt his fangs elongate. Liam didn't smell nearly as good as Eric, but he would do...

"Godric," Marius interrupted with a warning tone, and the boy instantly sat up and with fangs retracted. Liam scrambled to his feet, cursing the whole time, not realizing how close he had come to being Godric's dinner.

"What do you mean by that?" Eric turned to Pam defensively. Even from this far, he had recognized the hunger in Godric's eyes. His brother did not deserve the exquisite pain/pleasure he did when Godric drank from him.

"You desire him," Pam observed, as if it was that simple. "Do not worry, I will tell know one. You know my biggest secret, after all."

Eric became wary immediately. Was it that obvious? Did others notice the same way this girl, who had been a stranger not half an hour ago, did? "I do not," he insisted as if appalled by the idea. Besides, he did not desire Godric. They had a contract, that was all.

"I'm not judging you for it," Pam said gently, misunderstanding Eric's hesitance.

"There is nothing to judge. You have no reason to think I hold any sexual desire for my brother." He tried to keep himself from growling the words.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," Pam said, but before Eric could respond, Marius called out to him.

"Eric, Lady Pamela should retire," he suggested, sounding a little frazzled. When Pam looked over, she saw why. Godric looked like he wanted to tear Liam's head off his shoulders and was being held back by Marius's grip on his arms.

"He's a bit of a wild one, isn't he?" she asked Eric.

"He is from a very different place," was all Eric was willing to admit as he walked Pamela out of the garden. There were still so many things they needed to discuss with one another, but they had a lifetime to do so, did they not? For instance, he did not yet know if the Princess would wish for her own sleeping quarters.

Godric's attention focused solely on Eric when the new couple emerged once again. "I will show Lady Pamela around the castle and introduce her to her servants," Marius offered as he pushed Godric gently towards Eric.

Eric narrowed his eyes at Godric once they were alone together. "Why are you acting like an animal!" he accused.

Godric frowned. He didn’t like being scolded, especially by Eric. "He provoked me," Godric told him, sounding very much like the teenager that he was.

Eric knew that was true. Liam obviously didn’t like sharing the castle with Godric and planned to hurt him. Eric was going to make sure he could stop it before Liam did. "And you're hungry." Eric stated another obvious fact.

Godric looked away, not wanting to admit that it was true. This deal of theirs had made them both dependent on each other and he was not sure that he liked it. "I'm fine." he lied.

Eric studied the boy and realized that his fangs were pointed again. The sight of them barely visible through his parted lips brought the knight close to the edge of control and he shivered. Suddenly, he, too, was hungry again for more than food and wine. "You act like you're jealous," Eric accused, folding his arms across his chest. Godric had no right to be jealous. They had no obligation to one another except the ones they discussed.

Godric shot him an angry glare. "I am not!" he hissed. His did not need Eric to provoke him any further.

Eric knew that the more he incited the vampire, the hungrier Godric would become. If he pushed and pushed until Godric could not be pushed any further, maybe, just maybe, both of them could get what they secretly desired. "You are jealous. And you have no right to be! I do not belong to you!" Eric growled, taking a brave step forward, even as his body shook. He supposed that this is what it felt like for a hunter to challenge an unforgiving beast in the wild safaris he had heard stories of.

Godric's eyes took on a wild glimmer. "You are mine," he growled, and in a move that was too fast for Eric to comprehend, he gripped Eric’s shirt and pulled him close. He grabbed the knight’s hair and forced the taller man to his knees effortlessly. "You are mine and no one else's... Say it!" he demanded.

Eric's entire body cried out to be claimed and his blood sang in his veins as he was forced to kneel. Yet he still glared up at Godric defiantly, showing off imaginary fangs of his own. "Never!" he shouted the challenge.

"I'll just have to show you, then," was Godric’s only warning before he bit down viciously into the human's neck.

Even though he knew the attack was coming, it still took Eric off-guard. When his back hit the grass behind him and he felt Godric's fangs sinking roughly into his neck, he cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain and fought against Godric only so that the surrender could be sweeter.

Godric followed Eric down to the ground, his bite becoming gentler as he felt his victim give in. He pulled away to watch the blood run down Eric’s neck before his tongue swept it up again. "You taste so good," he moaned.

Eric used whatever strength he had to turn his head and expose more of his neck to the vampire. He wanted Godric to drain his life away and fill him back up with himself. He did not care if it changed him. He wanted it. "More," Eric begged, his voice hoarse. His chest rose and fell rapidly as his entire body swooned from pleasure.

"I cannot," Godric whispered, because he would not risk taking too much and hurting Eric again. Godric bit his tongue and licked over the messy wound and watched as it healed.

"You won't hurt me," Eric said, delirious from the blood loss, even if it was not significant enough to cause his body damage.

"I will... I have no control when I'm with you. The urge to drain you dry is strong," the vampire confessed, hoping it would scare the human.

Eric eyes were closed but he grinned wildly. "I'm not scared," he whispered bravely.

Godric just sighed and laid his head down on Eric's chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat. "I don't want you to marry her. I don't want to share you with anybody."

Eric should have eased the vampire's worries by telling him the truth, but instead, he twisted the knife in the metaphorical wound. "You have just as much of a choice in the matter as I do, and besides, I owe you nothing," he lied.

Godric’s grip tightened. "Tell the King you don't want to marry her."

Eric wanted to see just how jealous he could make Godric. He wanted to push again, to watch the anger flash in his eyes and to hear another deep growl vibrate through his body. Godric was beautiful when he was enraged, and although Eric knew it wasn't fair, he liked toying with him. But Eric knew he was playing with fire, and he did not want Godric to get so angry that he would go after Pam.

"Maybe I do wish to marry her. Maybe I think she's pretty," he challenged.

Godric's growl was low and dangerous, but he made himself stop as soon as he realized he was doing it. He sat up so he could glare down at Eric. "Why, because she's tall and blonde?" he spat, even though that was apparently his taste, too.

"And why does it matter to you?!"

Godric looked away. "Because I don't think it's fair that she will have you in ways I cannot."

Eric tensed when Godric reached out to toy with his shirt's expensive buttons. "In what way don’t you have me?" he crossed his arms over his chest, making sure Godric could not lunge at him again. "Besides, I think she'll be far too busy with her ladies-in-waiting to pay much attention to me," he joked, strongly alluding to the truth.

Godric caught on pretty quickly and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So you will not lay with her?" he asked.

Eric knew that there was no way he was going to get up Pamela's skirts. The girl was headstrong and stubborn and certainly could hold her own. If she made up her mind to never spend a single night with him, he was sure there was nothing he could do to persuade her. "I don't know. Why do you care?! I am a free man.”

Godric looked uneasy. "What if... What if I want to change our agreement?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'd say that's not very fair," Eric said, but he was curious as to what more Godric could want. It was hard to act as though his entire body was not still swooning. "What would you wish to change?"

Instead of answering in words, Godric leaned forward, and planted a soft kiss on Eric’s lips. He pulled away after a moment as if to judge Eric's reaction.

Eric stared, open mouthed and confused, before he rose and walked away quickly out of the garden. Sadly, Godric watched him go and tried to ignore the strange pain in his chest that felt suspiciously like his heart breaking.


	8. Chapter 8

Godric didn't see Eric again until the day of his wedding. Overall, the ceremony was a huge, fancy affair. The King wanted only the best for his favored adopted son after all, and he never missed an opportunity to show off his wealth to the people of his kingdom.

But for Eric, the wedding had been a boring, slow, formal affair. Pamela was beautiful, of course, in her huge white and gold patterned dress that was made especially for her with the most expensive material available. She was quite a vision, and on the surface, the young princess fit the part perfectly. It was enough to make Eric just a little sad that she would never feel anything towards him. It was the talk of the village that they were a perfect match for one another, made in heaven.

If they only knew, Eric smirked to himself.

The kiss had been simple. Though Eric had always imagined shocking the Royal Family at his wedding by sweeping his lady off her feet with a sexy, inappropriate kiss that would have everyone gasping, it was instead only a chaste kiss exchanged between friends. It was not at all like the heated, velvet kiss Godric surprised him with the other day.

All day, Eric felt the vampire's eyes on him and had tried to avoid meeting them with his own. Eric swore he could feel Godric’s anger and jealousy and thirst as if the boy were a part of him, possessing him, and it was hard work attempting to ignore it. But now, at the reception, Eric only had one goal. To get as drunk as humanly possible.

While the wedding ceremony itself had been a stifling, boring event, wine flowed freely at the reception and a different kind of energy flooded into the castle's banquet hall. "Eying the royal girls-in-waiting, My Lady? On our wedding night?" Eric teased his new wife as he took another long sip of wine. This was his day, the only wedding he would ever have, and he was going to have fun regardless of the circumstances.

"I have to know my options," Pam teased back. Surprisingly, she was enjoying herself. It was not something she would have ever imagined on her wedding night. "And it seems we are not the only ones." She gestured towards one of the doors as she watched Prince Godric slip out with one of the squires who was wearing Eric's coat of arms. "Isn't that your squire and your brother sneaking off together?"

Eric's grin instantly dissolved when he saw the vampire walk off with his right-hand-man. He felt a pang stab him clean through the heart and he clenched his goblet so hard it threatened to shatter in his hand. "I don't care about such things," he lied through clenched teeth and looked away.

"Of course not," Pam said easily as she took a sip of her wine. "But if you felt ill and needed to retire early, your new wife would not hold it against you." She smiled, giving him an excuse to leave.

Not wanting to admit to anything, Eric said nothing and sat in anger while he took two more long gulps of wine. However, a moment later, he placed the goblet down heavily on the table and kissed Pam on the cheek before he rose from the table and stormed off after the two boys.

As he approached Godric's bedroom, Eric's steps became softer and softer. With a hand on his sword and a fire raging in his heart, he pressed his ear to the wooden door and listened.

*

Godric just wanted to forget about everything and drown himself in this young, naive servant boy's blood. As he tore the other boy's shirt off to reveal his pale chest, Godric didn't want to think of the way Eric had held Pam's hand or had whispered in her ear. They looked too perfect together, like two blond-headed angels mated for life.

Part of him felt good, taking Eric's boy from him and making him his.

Momentarily distracted, the boy managed to push Godric back onto his bed. The red-haired, freckled boy was far too eager and domineering for Godric’s tastes, but he knew that his blood would taste sweet and rich with adolescence.

"I'm going to fuck you into the mattress," his distraction growled, and Godric almost laughed. He couldn't help but think that this bag of blood lacked the fire that Eric had. Yet, he thought, just for a moment, that he might actually let this human do what he wanted.

"There will be no fucking," the vampire corrected firmly as he wrapped his legs around the human's waist and ground their erections together to show that he could still have a little fun.

With that, Eric kicked open the unlocked door. It slammed so hard against the wall that a cloud of dust formed around the tall, dark image of the angry knight. "Get off my brother, or I'll tell the King and have you sent out as an offering to the wolves! And I'll watch as they rip you to pieces!" he shouted.

The boy shrieked and scurried out of the room faster than either of them thought was humanly possible. It took a second for Godric to realize what had happened, but when he did, he snapped. In the blink of an eye, he slammed Eric into a nearby wall and held him there by his throat. He felt Eric gasp for breath, but he ignored his instinct not to hurt him.

"You haunt my waking hours and my dreams, and now I have to watch as you and your wife go off to have little blond-haired brats, and now you are preventing me from having any kind of pleasure!?" Godric hissed into Eric's face, his fangs sharp and ready.

Eric's eyes widened as they stared into Godric’s and he fought to free himself. He gasped and spat for air, his arms and legs kicking against Godric desperately until he felt himself slip closer and closer to unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered closed even as he tried to stop it.

Only then did Godric drop Eric to the floor. "You accuse me of witchery, but it is you who has put a spell on me," he admitted quietly.

Eric gasped loudly for oxygen and scrambled away from him. His hands came to grasp his sore neck and his shaking hand grabbed his sword. "You were going to break our agreement! You were going to drink from that boy...my friend!" he growled, his voice rough from being choked.

"What? I can have sex without feeding from someone!" Godric finally yelled. "Do you always eat and fuck at the same time?"

Eric snarled and stood up despite his pain and advanced towards Godric bravely. He was never one to back down. "No, but it is not the same for humans! It isn't! Blood and sex are one in the same for you, do not lie to me!" he shouted.

"If that is true, then why have we not lain together?!" Godric shouted back defensively. He had to admit that he was impressed by Eric's bravery, even when he knew what he was capable of.

It was a question Eric was not prepared for. He glared defiantly at Godric, deliberately provoking him, but to do what, he wasn't sure. "We are not lovers," Eric answered without confidence.

"No, we are not, nor are we brothers. Get out of my room," Godric demanded, pointing to the door.

"I have lived in this castle long before you, little brother..." Eric provoked further, "If you wish for me to leave, you must make me."

Then, Godric did the only thing he could think to do that usually had the brave knight running from him. He took a handful of his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him hard. This time, he did not pull back to judge the human's reaction.

Before Eric knew what was happening, he was kissing Godric back just as hard and reached for the boy's own shirt that his loyal squire had so nicely opened for him. It quickly became a fight for dominance, and using his superior size, he shoved the vampire against the wall.

Surprisingly, Godric allowed it, and when his back hit the wall, all he did was reach down to undo Eric's trousers. "I've wanted you for so long," he confessed as he stood up on his toes to kiss Eric again. His hand slipped in to grasp Eric’s cock. "I want to fuck you."

Eric growled against Godric's lips and continued to hold him against the wall. "The only one who will do any fucking is me." He used those same words he had heard earlier.

Godric tensed. "That's my line," he growled, and with that, he pushed Eric towards the bed. "I explained to you how this works with my kind. Whoever is the strongest gets to do the fucking, and we both know I am stronger than you."

Eric was pushed to the bed with what seemed like no effort at all and he only allowed himself a brief moment of surprise. "Is that your way of proposing a duel, my young immortal prince?" he threatened. But instead of drawing out his sword, he unbuckled it and threw it to the ground.

Godric didn't answer, he just crawled up Eric's body and kissed him hard. He concentrated on not cutting him with his fangs. "You actually think you can win?" he asked when he pulled away to take off the rest of his own clothes.

Eric threw the boy onto his back and began to tear at his clothes himself. "I think that by the end of this, I will have you helpless and begging for me on all fours," he threatened, the combination of alcohol and adrenaline in his blood making him bold.

Godric never before thought he would enjoy the thought of being ravished. After Eric had him fully naked, he reached to pull down his own trousers. "I won't submit to you," Godric warned as he grasped Eric’s cock again and stroked him slowly.

"No? You're the one naked," Eric pointed out daringly as he shoved Godric underneath him with a fierce snarl.

Godric flipped them over again. He pinned Eric's wrists to the bed with one hand and ripped the rest of his clothes off with the other. "Now we both are."

Eric cared little as his fine, expensive clothes were ruined and fluttered to the ground. That was when he decided to play Godric's game only long enough to get his way. He stopped fighting, his chest rising and falling heavily underneath Godric’s as he pretended to surrender.

Godric smiled down at Eric approvingly. "You deserve a reward," he whispered, kissing him as he ground his ass down against Eric’s erection.

At first, Eric had every intention of waiting until Godric relaxed and let his guard down before changing their positions and winning the fight. But when the boy straddled him and he felt his ass on his raging erection, it was as though he were paralyzed. Eric froze and almost forgot to breathe. He looked up at the boy as if he were hypnotized. He wondered if Godric really had that capability.

"I think..." Godric began, trailing off as he looked down at Eric. "I think I want you inside of me."

Eric was panting hard underneath Godric and he could actually hear his own heart pounding. He knew it was his because he had never found a heartbeat or a pulse against the vampire's own skin. "I want you to bite me," he breathed a confession of his own.

"Not yet. I won't have you say I bewitched you later," Godric chastised as he grasped Eric's cock and lined himself up before sinking down on him. He groaned at the feeling of being filled up.

Eric didn't expect it to happen so soon, and before he could prepare himself, Godric was fully seated on his erection. Eric arched his back and cried out in surprise. He was instantly overwhelmed with pleasure and his hands instinctively clenched down on the boy's perfect thighs, spread open across his hips. He stopped Godric from moving. "You'll hurt," he panted, even though every fiber of his being wanted to pound up into that tight heat.

"I'll heal," Godric gently assured him and his hand slid over Eric’s chest. Eric's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he surrendered completely, giving all the control to the boy riding him. He had never been inside anyone as tight, and he was almost hysterical with pleasure. He rolled his hips up and his hands clenched the boy’s thighs so tight they would have bruised a human.

While Godric had no need to breathe, he was panting hard. He moaned when his lover moved and found that spot inside of him that had him seeing stars. He started to move after that, lifting himself up and down in a slow, rocking motion. Eric watched in fascination. He was hitting a special part of Godric with his cock that obviously felt good and he watched as the vampire was swept away in a fit of rapture. Eric moaned with each thrust down on his cock, and thought that if he died now, he would die complete.

He reached up with a bold, shaky hand and probed Godric’s fangs with the pad of his fingers, his cock pounding inside Godric’s impossible tightness. Godric sucked Eric's fingers into his mouth. "Gods..." Eric panted just as he pricked his finger purposefully on the vampire's extended fangs. He felt the shock of pain course through his body and he shivered. He smoothed his bloody hand down Godric's chest until there was a red trail leading towards Godric’s own hard cock. Eric arched his back and thrust up into him in time with his rhythm.

Godric got only a small taste of Eric's delicious blood before he had used it to paint his chest. The smell alone had him moaning for more. "Touch me," he tried to demand, but it came out as more of a plea.

Eric sat up as Godric continued to ride his cock until their mouths collided in a fierce kiss. Godric sliced his tongue on his fangs until they felt his blood drip out of the corners of their mouths. Eric’s hand snaked down to grasp the vampire's leaking cock and squeezed gently. Godric whimpered as both his needs were satisfied at the same time.

Eric felt Godric's body tense and he watched transfixed as he came undone. And then, it was as if he had no control over his own body and he grasped his lover's hips and thrust up into him a few more times before spilling out deeply inside him. Eric collapsed onto his back and panted while his chest glistened in sweat, blood still staining his mouth.

Godric collapsed on top of him, his face buried in Eric's neck. He ran his fingers gently over Eric’s chest as he waited for his heartbeat to slow.

It took Eric a while to recover and even longer for his heartbeat to return to normal. When finally he opened his eyes, he realized that he was still inside of Godric and the boy was spread out on top of him. He could see a flush over Godric’s skin and he did not think it was possible for paradise to have been right in front of him all this time. He licked his lips, tasting his own blood there.

Godric sat up only enough so that he can look down at Eric. For a minute, he just studied Eric’s face. "You've tamed me." he confessed before he leaned down to capture the human's lips. He knew in that moment that his heart would never belong to another.

Eric stared up at Godric through lust-filled eyes before he decided to test that theory. He threw Godric onto his back, covered his body with his own, and pinned his wrists above his head, all while expecting Godric to lash out at him and take back the dominance he had fought for.

Godric automatically tensed. The flash of panic in his eyes was only there for a moment before he locked eyes with Eric and forced himself to relax and look bored. When Godric didn't fight back, Eric's entire body softened and he let go of Godric’s wrists slowly. He seemed to bow his head then, pressing his forehead against his tattooed chest as if in apology.

Godric's hand came up to touch Eric's hair gently. "Do you regret what we just did?" he asked hesitantly.

Eric didn't know why Godric would ask such a thing. His face still buried in his chest, he shook his head no. Godric relaxed even further into the bed. His muscles were sore in all the right places and he could feel Eric's seed leaking out of him, and in this moment, he was perfectly content.

"I don't want you to have anyone else this way." Godric demanded bluntly.

Eric could not deny that he belonged to him now, body and soul, and he could not deny that he was his willingly. But when he thought about Godric with his victim tonight, he was filled with rage all over again and sat up. "But you are allowed to bite my squire?"

"I was not going to bite him, Eric," Godric tried to explain.

Eric looked down at the bed sheets and felt insecurity rise up inside of him. As a knight, it was not something he was used to feeling. And yet this boy brought out emotions in him he did not think he was capable of. "Will you still need others?" he asked just as bluntly.

"I don't want others. I just want you."

Eric was still panting softly as he looked down at Godric. "Give me your blood, then," he challenged, as if that would prove everything.

"Why? Don't you remember how it was when you had it before? I gave you too much and it made you sick," Godric pointed out.

Eric felt like he was going to burst if he didn't have it. What was wrong, if he only took a little? It would complete the cycle, balance the unbalanced, and he would have more of Godric inside of him. "It makes me feel good. It makes me stronger. I can hear things I couldn't, feel things I couldn't... I want it like I want you."

Godric sighed. Maybe if he were more in control this time and only gave Eric a little, he wouldn't suffer for it. He ran his tongue over his fangs to cut it. "Kiss me," he demanded.

Eric smelled the blood and practically threw himself at him, kissing him deeply and tasting Godric’s blood greedily. He moaned into Godric’s mouth and melted against him until there was no blood left to take. He continued to kiss him, hoping for more, but sated in ways he never thought possible.

Godric didn't dare risk giving Eric any more, but he continued to kiss him lazily for a few more minutes before he pulled away. "Sleep in here tonight," he requested, not wanting Eric to go to his new wife's bed.

Eric smiled, his intoxication intensified by the blood. He collapsed on top of Godric and laid his head down on his chest. "I don't think my wife wants my company tonight," he laughed.

"Good," Godric answered, pleased as he ran his fingers through Eric's long hair.

As if out of their own violation, Eric's fingers began to trace the tattoos on Godric’s chest and arms in fascination. They were beautiful against his skin and his taunt muscles. "What do these mean?" he whispered into the dark.

"Like I told you before, they tell my life's story. My heritage," he heard Godric say softly.

Eric grazed the tips of his fingers longingly over the detailed designs. "I want to know it," he told him, as if he were nothing more than a child hoping for a bed-time story. He wanted to know all the boy's secrets, just as Godric knew all of his.

"Thinking of getting one yourself?" Godric teased.

"No," Eric mumbled, because it was not tradition for a son of the king to decorate himself in that way, though he had to admit it was tempting. "I want to know things like that. Tell me. Do you miss your world?" he asked, still not satisfied.

"There aren't as many rules as there are here. I guess I do miss that. Humans seem to hide behind those rules."

Eric felt as though a huge wall had crumbled down between them, opening them both up to each other in ways they were too afraid to feel before. "But we... I stole you from there. Aren't you even slightly resentful?"

"Well, I was at the time. But I was angrier at myself for getting caught. I do like it here. And I am starting to appreciate the sun more."

"You weren’t hard to catch," Eric laughed softly, his fingers still memorizing the art on Godric’s naked body. "Whatever land you came from cannot be worse than this. I don't know how you could feel more free here, a prince in this kingdom..." He himself felt like a prisoner within these walls. The only time he had ever felt free was on the battlefield or right here in Godric's arms.

"I'm still free. I could leave if I wanted to and no one would ever be able to find me again. Even that stupid wizard could not catch me," the vampire said confidently.

Eric lifted his head to glare down at him. "He's not stupid, he’s brilliant, and without him, you wouldn't be here," he insisted in defense of Marius. The man was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Eric had nothing but respect and affection for him, and that was not something Eric gave away to just anyone.

"I don't trust wizards. They are always up to something. They move people’s lives around like they are pieces on a chess board."

Eric knew that wasn't true, at least as far as Marius was concerned. He did not create fate, he only foresaw it. "And how many wizards have you met, exactly?" Eric challenged.

"Only one other," Godric admitted. "I just don't trust them. You can defend him all you want, but it won't change my mind."

Eric looked at Godric angrily. In any other circumstance, he would have pulled his sword in defence of the man who raised him. "It is Liam you should not trust," Eric growled at him, "Marius is not someone to fear."

"We don't have to like the same people, Eric," Godric reminded him, reaching up to cup Eric's face, hoping that the touch would calm him. When it did, Godric pulled him closer so he could kiss Eric’s lips gently. "I should get cleaned up. Unless you want to fetch me a wet rag and let me stay in bed."

"I don't follow orders from impish, sexy little forest creatures. I am a prince of this kingdom," Eric teased, grinning wide. "And besides, I like you messy," he added.

Godric smiled at that. "You are the one who is looking me over like you want to devour me. Are you a vampire now?"

Eric grinned again as if he were showing off his imaginary fangs. "I wish I were. Then maybe we could devour each other," he taunted.

"You don't mean that... you hate my kind, remember?"

Eric sobered up at the thought of his parent's brutal murder in the woods. "I don't hate you. I suppose...there are bad vampires and good vampires like there are good and bad people," he told Godric honestly. "I just hate the beasts that killed my family. I will have revenge on them some day. Will you stop me?" he asked.

"I don't know," Godric answered honestly.

Eric did not understand, even though he had expected Godric to say that. "You are mine now and I am yours. Would you not want to see me have revenge for my family?" he asked.

Godric's dead heart fluttered. "I would want you to have peace... But how can you be sure if you have the right vampires or even that it was vampires at all?"

Eric held back a growl. He had a feeling that the vampire tribe that resided near his childhood home had been the one that had stalked and killed his family. It had been his father's dying wish for Eric to avenge him, and he had taken it very seriously. He knew that when that day came, Godric would not be able to stop him.

But he could not lose Godric, either. Not now, not after he said he belonged to Eric. Frustration settled inside him. "What else would it be, but vampires?" Eric barked. They were certainly not wolves. "I don't wish to talk of this anymore."

"All right." Godric was all too eager to end the discussion as well. "I just want you to know that revenge will not bring you peace."

"It will bring peace to my family," Eric insisted, though Godric nearly had him in a trance again, and he could not bring himself to care about anything but the depths of Godric’s eyes.

"Your family is dead. Do you think they really care about vengeance now?" Godric proposed as he let his hand wonder down Eric’s face to his neck. Not answering him, Eric closed his eyes and responded by tilting his neck for Godric's hand, opening himself up for exploration. "Other vampires will know you're mine," he added as his fingers slid over the two tiny scars on the human's neck.

Eric tilted his neck further. "I want them to always be there," he whispered.

Godric pulled him down closer so he could kiss the marks. "They will be."

It took a moment for those words to sink in, but when they did, Eric quickly went panicked. His eyes opened wide and he stared at Godric in fear. "I don't want that, to be a vampire... Will I turn into one?"

Godric was momentarily taken aback. "No, I would have to turn you into one and I will never do that. I just meant that the marks are permanent," he explained.

Eric was still shaken up. He hadn't thought before of the dangers of becoming what Godric was during their blood sharing sessions, and he did not know enough about it to know any better. "How would you turn me into one?"

"I would have to drain you to the point of death, and then make you drink from me. You would be reborn then."

Eric swallowed nervously, but he thought of how good it would feel for Godric to drink his life away and give it back to him until he was full. "Don't ever do that. Even if I ask you to," he whispered.

"I will not watch you die. You cannot ask that of me," Godric promised.

Eric laid his forehead against the vampire's cold chest again and kissed him softly over and over again. The alcohol and the blood danced together in his veins and he felt too good to think of anything else now. "We have to keep this between us," he told him.

"Why?" Godric asked. How would everyone know Eric was his if they kept it a secret?

Eric sighed. He didn't think he would have to explain this to Godric. "People wouldn't understand," he told him softly. "It's better this way. It would draw a lot of attention to us. There would be a scandal. And this cursed kingdom loves scandals."

The vampire boy nodded slowly but reluctantly.

"It is better this way," Eric tried to reason with him again. He could not believe he was laying so much trust in someone who was supposed to be his enemy. He felt impossibly drowsy as he closed his eyes again and felt the weight of exhaustion pressing down on his body.

"Get some rest," Godric said gently as he ran his fingers down Eric’s back.

As if by command, Eric was asleep underneath the gentle pressure of his new lover's hands within minutes.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric did not move much during the night. When the room filled with streams of light from the sun, the prince protested with a moan and buried his face deeper into Godric's chest. He had drooled a little in his sleep and his erection pressed hard into the vampire's thigh.

Godric, however, woke slowly as usual. He rolled over onto his side, not fazed at all by Eric's weight on top of him as he snuggled into the pillow with the human still draped over him. The prince’s sleepy hands wandered down the vampire’s cold, hard chest, lost in a dream. It was only when he began to wake that he noticed the body by his side was real.

Eric started awake and last night came rushing back to him as fast as a swinging sword.

Godric blindly grasped his companion’s hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it sleepily, not sensing Eric’s panic. Eric was instantly calmed and he felt the tension release from his body. "Does the sun hurt you at all?" he asked Godric quietly.

"It hurts when the sun is highest in the sky, but aside from that, it just makes me sleepy," Godric mumbled drowsily.

"Lazy," Eric teased him. He ran a finger down Godric’s spine, hoping to entice a shiver out of this beautiful stone statue. "Are you just going to sleep all day, then?"

Eric got the shiver he wanted as Godric trembled under his touch. "You might be able to convince me to wake up," he whispered, but did not give in to his temptation to kiss Eric then. The blond prince’s hair was ruffled from sleep and his eyes were still heavy lidded. He looked delicious.

"Mmm," Eric moaned at the challenge. He smirked and kissed down the length of his lover's back, down his spine. He kissed over the curve of his flawlessly rounded ass and down his toned, muscular thigh. "You're perfect."

Godric groaned into the pillow. There was definitely something good to be said about humans and their beds. He chuckled when he heard his companion’s rich voice. "I thought you preferred your lovers to be more feminine?"

"That's not true," Eric laughed. Sure, he loved women, but he never limited himself to just one gender. "I've fucked men before," he shrugged.

Godric didn't like the sound of that. "Who?" he asked, turning around abruptly to face the man.

Eric snickered at the strange question, sensing his companion’s jealousy. Why did Godric want to know details about his past male lovers? "Why does it matter who?"

Godric sighed in response. He would have to keep a closer eye on Eric, he thought to himself. "I just want to know your type of man."

Eric smirked playfully. "I don't have a type," he shrugged. It was true, after all. He had been with different kinds of men and women, and now he was with a vampire hybrid. He definitely could say that Godric was his most beautiful lover and the one that might just be able to tame him. "What's your type?" he challenged.

"Tall, blond, and ridiculously handsome," Godric said without even thinking about it. He smiled at Eric and nipped at the underside of his chin.

Eric felt a huge boost to his ego which was already too big for the room. "There are not many men like that in this kingdom. And I'd be shocked to learn that any of your little forest friends had those traits..." he smirked arrogantly as he nuzzled the boy gingerly.

"There is only one man I want in my bed," Godric said, tilting his head to let him nuzzle him as much as he wanted, something he used to never allow from anyone before.

"But you must have had many other lovers... what were they like?" Eric wanted to know. As much as he hated the thought of Godric with anyone else, drinking from anyone else, mating with anyone else... he wanted to know.

"They all just wanted sex. I don't even remember them all," Godric admitted.

Eric tried to understand, but there was something he was hiding. "And you wanted it, too?"

Godric buried his head in Eric's neck and wrapped his arms around him. "Not all the time. Our ways are very different from your people."

Eric lifted his head and looked down at Godric, into his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked as if he didn't really want to know the answer. He didn't want to believe it. Godric was so strong, how could he let anyone take advantage of him?

"Nothing. It isn’t important," Godric told him, because it wasn't any more. He no longer had to abide by vampire traditions. He was in the human world now.

"It is to me," Eric mumbled, although he didn't want to press Godric for details that he wasn't ready to tell him. Eric suddenly understood Godric's need for control and dominance.

Godric sighed. "I told you before that the older vampires are the strongest ones. And I just wasn't the oldest," Godric said simply. "It is the way of vampires. If you want something, you simply take it."

Eric felt his hands clench into fists at the thought. Now, he just had that much more passion for revenge. "I'll kill them all. Every last fucking one of them."

"No, you won't. They are still my people and not all of them are that way," the vampire said gently.

"Then you should point out the ones that hurt you. You should point out the ones that brutally murdered my family."

"You will not use me as an excuse to get revenge," Godric said firmly, pushing the human away from him.

Eric did not like to be pushed away, especially from his lovers. "You think that is what all this is about?" he demanded.

"I don't know. I don't know how your mind works," the vampire told him honestly.

Eric's temper was still out-of-control as he glared at his new lover. "So you cannot read my thoughts?" he asked, because he had always assumed the myth was true.

Godric actually laughed at that. "Even if I could read your thoughts, I certainly would not want to."

Eric was put off by that. If there was one thing he hated, it was being laughed at. He sat up and pouted slightly without realizing it. "What's so horrid about my thoughts?"

Godric smiled. "It is just that I bet you have an absolutely filthy mind," he said, sitting up and kissing Eric's jaw.

That did nothing to reassure him. No one had ever made him feel so purely human before. Among his men, he was a living god, a fearless warrior, superhuman. But here, with Godric, he was nothing more than a pathetic slave in the presence of a real god. "Sex is not all I think about," Eric insisted stubbornly.

"Hmm… what are you thinking about right now?" Godric asked as he slid the sheets off Eric's naked body and let his fingers ghost lightly across his cock.

When Godric pulled the sheets aside, Eric was already rock hard. He shivered when Godric touched him with only the lightest of caresses and his cock jumped with eagerness. "You don't want to know," he admitted.

Godric kissed down Eric's throat before pushing the human back so he was laid out beneath him. "Well, I am thinking I want to be inside of you."

Eric allowed Godric to lay him down, but only until he realized what his intentions were. Although it was true that the knight had had past experiences with men, he had always been the one in control. The one taking. It was control that he was not willing to give up, any more than Godric was. Eric would be fooling himself if he said he didn't want it, but that was what scared him the most.

He growled and sat up again. "I'm not that kind of man."

Godric frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It means that I do not lie down for other men!" he tried to put it into words Godric would understand without spilling his soul onto the bed sheets.

"But… I did it for you."

"So?" Eric challenged.

Godric gazed at him in disbelief before slipping off of the human and lying down with his back to Eric. He pulled the warm covers up to his neck as he did so, looking very child-like. "You should go back to your room, Prince."

Eric could not help but feel a pang of hurt when Godric did not understand. "Are you kicking me out?" he asked accusingly, refusing to go. The vampire couldn't make him, could he?

That wasn't what Godric wanted. His grip tightened on the bed sheets and he stared at the wall so he wouldn't be tempted to look at Eric. "No, it is your home. You can do as you please. I am just a visitor. Or a captive, depending on how one looks at it."

Eric sighed, still refusing to leave. Instead, he settled down and stared hopefully at the boy’s naked, tattooed back. "You are none of those things. This is your castle now as much as it is mine," Eric told him softly.

Godric finally broke and turned back to look at Eric. "You may one day become my home, but this castle will never be."

Eric suddenly wanted to give Godric everything. "Where do you want to be instead? I will take you there." He pleaded for an answer.

"But this is your home," Godric told him.

"And what will be your home, then?" Eric challenged. He wondered if Godric would ever be happy here. He was different and always would be. He didn't fit in here, in these polished palace walls. He was a caged wild animal. But could he ever accept it?

"The forest," Godric told him sincerely. "Where you can run around half-naked and no one is around to tell you not to."

Eric felt a faint playful smirk on his own lips before it was gone. "That is not true; the forests are full of creatures that could watch you," he argued. "Other creatures like you...werewolves..." he remembered them both and wondered how anyone could feel comfortable there.

"I can sense them when they are near and I am faster than they are," Godric assured him proudly. "And werewolves only want to eat humans, anyway," he added teasingly.

Eric suddenly wanted to see Godric in his natural element. He wanted to see him run naked through the forest, avoiding the wolves that watched him with envy. "But what werewolf could turn down a delicious little forest nymph like you?" Eric grinned, running a finger down Godric's chest and hoping he was forgiven.

Godric knew this issue Eric had was not resolved, but the vampire had finally gotten what he wanted, and if that was all Eric could give him at the moment, he could live with that. "I am way too intelligent to be a nymph."

Eric smiled, just happy that he had Godric's attention back. "Nymphs can be smart. You need to be smart in order to trick others," he pointed out. But it was then when he thought of something else. "Why don't you blame me for taking you away from there?"

"I do not know. Do you think I should?"

Eric was a little surprised by that answer, although he wasn't sure what exactly he had expected. "Well, I was only following orders," he shrugged, because it was true. It was also true that Eric volunteered to do the job. It was also true that he had been hoping to get revenge that night.

Godric scoffed at that. "Don’t tell me you did not enjoy catching me and putting me in that cage."

Eric laughed. He let his body collapse back onto the bed as he chuckled up at the ceiling. "I may have enjoyed it a little bit. But that was before you seduced me," he teased.

"Bastard. If I had not been sneaking off to meet another, you would have never caught me off guard," Godric insisted. If he hadn't let his hormones override his brain, he would have never been captured. But then, he also would never have met Eric.

Eric grinned. "Or maybe I would have. Maybe I would have found you innocently napping and snatched you up then. You weren't hard to catch at all. You were such easy prey," he continued to tease affectionately. "Are you still mad at me?"

"For some reason, you have this ability to drain away any anger I feel towards you," Godric said honestly.

"It's a special talent," Eric told him with a charming smile before his lips found Godric’s neck and sucked him there. "What is it like? Biting me? Drinking my blood? Being the being you are?" he asked a little breathlessly as his lips began to travel downwards to worship Godric’s chest.

Godric arched into Eric's touch. "How can I explain something like that to a human?" he asked as his hands tangled in Eric’s hair and attempted to push Eric’s mouth down to where he most wanted it.

Eric smirked and threw Godric's hands away from him. "Try," he pleaded as he used his teeth along with his lips and tongue to leave no inch of Godric’s chest uncovered.

Godric whimpered when he didn't get what he wanted. "It's like, it's like..." he stuttered as Eric's teeth found a sensitive spot, "…the ecstasy humans get from their religions."

Eric knew Godric would feel his smile against the flesh of his chest as his hands wandered down Godric’s muscular legs. His mouth quickly followed and he sucked a mark on his inner thigh as his hand slid up to grasp his cock.

Godric thrust into Eric's hand. "Please, Eric, your mouth," he begged.

Eric grinned against Godric’s thigh as his hand worked him slow enough to keep him wanting more but fast enough not to torture him. "Where, here?" he teased as he climbed up Godric’s body and lowered his lips the boy’s in a deep kiss, knowing that his was definitely not where Godric wanted them the most.

"I was thinking a little lower," he gasped against Eric's mouth.

"You mean here?" Eric teased again, moving his wet mouth down to suck and bite softly on a dark nipple that hardened under his tongue.

Godric groaned. His English speech was beginning to fail him. "Yes...no...yes… You know exactly where I mean," he said as he tangled his fingers in Eric's hair again.

Eric grinned and kissed his way down his lover's muscular chest and down the trail of dark hair between his belly button and his cock. Eric moaned and licked up Godric’s shaft, tasting him this way for the first time. He wanted to make Godric feel good. He wanted to prove to him that his pleasure was just as important as his own. It was something Eric had never wanted to prove to anyone before in his life.

Godric whimpered and automatically thrust towards Eric's mouth, wanting it again. "Please, Eric, please,” he pleaded shamelessly. Then he thought about Eric's new wife, who was probably wondering where her husband was this morning. "You can fuck me," he told Eric abruptly, suddenly changing his mind about fighting Eric for control.

Eric looked up, surprised, expecting the vampire to lash out in retaliation and take back what he said. He wasn't even sure he heard him correctly. "Oh, this is a splendid honeymoon. I suppose that makes you my wife," Eric teased, though he knew he was walking on thin ice. One more joke, and Godric might take back his offer. Still, Eric couldn't resist it. Godric was maddening beautiful when he was angry.

"I will spread my legs for you, but that does not make me your wife," Godric snarled, pulling Eric up for a kiss.

Eric grinned with new confidence. But even like this, with Godric's inviting body spread out under him, Eric knew he was not in charge. But he could still pretend. "It seems you are my bride. After all, I am supposed to be deflowering my princess on my wedding night," he teased again, and to silence any protests, he dropped his mouth hard on Godric’s in a demanding kiss.

Godric melted against him before he pulling away. "There will be no deflowering. Where you go, many others have gone before you," he tried to tease back.

Eric felt a twinge of jealousy at that, but he refused to let it spoil this. "But none were as handsome as I," he grinned arrogantly, his lips moving against Godric’s as he shifted to settle between Godric’s legs, his raging erection obvious and needy between them. "I bet you've never had a prince before me."

"No, I have not," Godric said, thrusting up against him. "But I want one... Now."

With that, Eric sucked two fingers into his mouth, wet them thoroughly, and slid them between Godric’s cheeks. He circled his entrance there, watching Godric carefully for his reaction through lust-glazed eyes.

Godric moaned and spread his legs further. "Don't worry, I'll bleed and it will ease your way," he said, knowing what Eric was thinking without reading his thoughts.

Eric frowned at that. His chest heaved with the effort it took to hold himself back from taking Godric roughly, but the thought of hurting him terrified Eric. "I don't want to hurt you," he panted, just as two fingers penetrated him easily.

"You can't hurt –" Godric began, but stopped as Eric’s fingers entered him. "What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes wide from having Eric exploring such an intimate part of him. Somehow, it was more intimate than his cock inside him would ever have been.

"Mmm," the human smirked, knowing that none of Godric's past lovers had ever taken the time to stretch him. Eric’s fingers probed and stretched and searched for that secret bundle of nerves. “I’m stretching you so I won’t hurt you," he answered simply just as he sank his fingers further past that hot, tight ring of muscle and felt Godric’s prostate.

"Ah!" Godric cried out, and nearly shot off the bed. "Please, inside of me. Now!"

Eric grinned and further teased that spot inside of him. "You're not stretched yet," he protested half-heartedly, though his own cock was now throbbing with impatience. A third finger joined the other two and scissored the vampire open. There was something exhilarating about having someone as strong as Godric underneath him, writhing in ecstasy, making those sweet, weak noises.

Godric whimpered. "Your fingers are not nearly as big as you," Godric said, reaching down to stroke Eric appreciatively.

When Eric felt Godric’s hand go around him, he immediately lost all control. "I'm gonna fuck you now," was his hurried warning and he bit down hard on Godric’s neck with his dull human teeth. He quickly positioned himself and slid halfway inside Godric. He moaned as the tight heat engulfed him.

Godric moaned as Eric thrust inside him. "Push harder, I need all of you," he demanded and he grabbed Eric's ass and urged him on.

Eric could no longer hold himself back from the promise of unearthly pleasure as his muscles flexed and he slammed the rest of the way inside of the vampire. "So now you're my whore?" he teased Godric, even now, not able to resist after he had begged so sweetly.

It was hard to think properly with Eric fully sheathed inside of him, and it took Godric a moment to answer. But when he did, he remembered a curse he had picked up from the humans. "Fuck...you."

Eric laughed breathlessly and pulled back only to thrust back inside, claiming him roughly. He threw his head back when he felt that overwhelming tightness around his cock. "Gods..." He stilled, giving him a chance to adjust to him.

Godric didn't take that time to adjust, and in the blink of an eye, he had Eric flipped over onto his back. He gave him a fanged smile as he started moving on him. "Now you're my whore."

Eric gave no resistance when the vampire roughly took back the control that Eric had only pretended to borrow. "Fuck... yes," he admitted shamelessly, arching his back and attempting to thrust back up into his impossibly tight body.

Godric rolled his hips before lifting off of Eric just enough to thrust back down. "You, my prince, are mine," he whispered before he leaned down and sank his fangs into his vulnerable neck.

Eric immediately felt devoured, his own heart beat ringing in his ears. He felt the sharp pain only for a second before it melted away to pleasure. He felt the boy pulling on his veins, mesmerized by the soft, hungry suckling sounds loud and messy in his ear. He cried out as his hands clenched the curve of his ass as he fucked him. "Take all of me..." he begged, though he wasn't even aware that he had said it.

Godric had to force himself away before he grew too tempted to take Eric up on his offer. He suddenly stilled his moving hips and pinned the human’s arms to the bed. "I don't want you to come," Godric whispered in Eric's ear. "I want you to stay hard inside of me forever…"

Eric felt the tension in his body rising just from the force of Godric's command on his body. "It's too soon,” he protested, his body enslaved to the vampire's rough rhythm.

Godric growled and suddenly pulled away from Eric, letting his cock slip out of him. "Now you will not be coming at all," he said, just to provoke his lover.

Something snapped inside of Eric then when the vampire disconnected himself and smiled down at him with gleaming fangs. He remembered what it felt like to be an animal starved for blood and wasted no time before he grabbed Godric by the hips and flipped him onto his taunt, muscled stomach and thrust into him roughly. "Yes, I will." His voice was hot in his ear.

"Eric," Godric moaned as he flipped him over, smiling when he got the reaction he wanted. He pulled his knees underneath him so that his ass was higher in the air and his lover had easier access to him.

Eric moaned and began to fuck him as deeply as he could. "You feel so fucking good," he panted hard, though no sounds of heaving breathing came from the vampire beneath him. Desperate to hear him, he bit down hard on the hard flesh of his neck.

Godric knew then that he would not be able to last long with this new, hurried pace Eric had set, and when he felt the bite into his neck, he came undone and screamed Eric's name loud enough for the whole castle to hear.

As he felt the vampire’s tight body clamp down in him, he followed his lover over the edge and spilled out inside of him as if they were somehow connected. "Gods," he panted, collapsing onto his back.

"Was that better than your wife?" Godric asked sarcastically.

Eric laughed softly, his breath hot against the back of Godric’s neck. "I'll never know," he told him. He had no desire to leave this bed now or ever. Afraid of hurting him, he gently withdrew out of his tightness and turned to lie panting on his back. "Do you want to bite me again?" he asked suddenly in an intimate whisper, wondering if blood and sex were one in the same.

Godric curled up to Eric's side. "I am not hungry, my prince," Godric told him as his fingers traced patterns on his chest.

Eric marveled at how warm Godric’s body was. "Aren't you always hungry?" he asked curiously, his voice still low and intimate.

"No. Are you always hungry?" he lied easily.

Eric smiled at that. "Yes," he teased. He wondered if whatever human Godric had in him silenced the vampire hunger. But just as one question was answered, another invaded his mind. "Will you remain as you are? I mean... a child?" he asked more hesitantly.

Godric's fingers stopped tracing Eric's skin at the question. "Yes... does that bother you?"

Eric stared at him, missing the gentle strokes of his hand immediately. He frowned. "No," he answered honestly. "Does it bother you?" he turned the question back around.

Godric was a quiet for a minute before speaking. "Yes."

Eric's expression softened and he studied the vampire next to him closely. It was clear that he was young, a teenager, but he had age and wisdom in his eyes and the beautifully sculpted muscles of Roman god. "Why have you stopped aging so prematurely?" he asked.

"We stop aging when something traumatic happens to them or they find there soul mates," Godric explained. "After my mother was killed, I stopped aging."

Eric gazed over at the marble statue in his bed. He thought the trauma he caused by stealing him from the forest. "I think you are perfect," he told him honestly, just in case Godric didn't think so.

"Really?" Godric asked.

Eric smiled. "Yes. I am human, but you are a god."

"Then we shall be gods together," Godric told him, kissing his neck softly where the wound was still healing.

Eric ran his nails down his back so lightly it had to tickle. "We can't tell anyone. Least of all my brother or father. I believe Marius already knows," he whispered.

Godric squirmed under the light touch. "Why can't they know?”

Eric didn’t know how to answer that. He squirmed next to him and continued to trace the inked deigns on his back. "Because they would take you away from me," he tried to explain as simply as he could.

Godric frowned at the thought. "I would not let them," he assured, as if it were that simple. "I would fight for you."

Eric should have known that Godric would not understand. "It's better this way," he insisted, not wanting to talk about it any further. "You will just have to trust me, all right?"

Godric kissed Eric gently. "You better go back to you room then. You wouldn't want your new wife to worry or the guards to get suspicious."

Eric sat up and glared down at him. "Oh, so you're mad at me, now? Don't you understand that I am trying to protect you?" he demanded defensively.

"Sounds more like you're trying to protect your reputation as a ladies man," Godric said quietly.

Eric's jaw dropped. "Excuse me? I was with you last night, not my wife. Does that mean anything to you?" he demanded.

"But no one will ever know that!"

"Don’t you understand? What do you think would happen if I told my father? What do you think will happen if the whole Kingdom knows? Do you think they will congratulate us? We aren’t like your people, Godric. What is wrong with you?! Tell me what you think would happen, tell me!"

"I don't know!" Godric shouted back, not liking the fact that Eric might actually know better. "I don't know," he said again, this time in a whisper.

Eric continued to glare. Why did Godric always have to make things so difficult? "Well I do know," he told him. "They would excommunicate us, or something."

Godric sat up. "Fine, we will keep silent about it."

Eric visibly relaxed when Godric seemed to give in. "Something tells me you're just agreeing to shut me up," he teased, a small smile playing on his lips, desperate to stop arguing.

"I know that I do not know a lot about human customs, so in this case, I will do as you say... but don't expect this to happen often."

Eric smiled. "I don't know... I think you like doing what I say."

Godric rolled his eyes. "You are an impossible human."

"I know. But you like it."

"Sometimes," he admitted as his hands wandered up and down Eric's back.

"What things about me do you find irresistible, then?" he asked curiously.

"Hmmm... everything," he answered vaguely. "Because you have become very important to me," he added in a whisper to his ear.

Eric did laugh at that. "You don’t even know me," he wrongly accused.

"I know that I love you," Godric admitted for the first time.

Shock froze Eric's body. Suddenly, it wasn’t so funny anymore. He turned away from Godric in shyness, not able to let it sink in. "You can’t love me. I don’t believe in such a thing."

"It does not matter if do not believe in love," Godric told him, unfazed by his lover’s shock. “It exists.”


	10. Chapter 10

Later that afternoon, Eric dined on venison and wine in the Green Room. While many of the other rooms in the castle were far too dim and drafty for Eric’s taste, the Green Room was warm and comforting. A good many herbs and flowers grew there, feasting off of the rays of the sun which beamed in abundantly through wide windows.

The room was not meant for dining, but Eric had insisted that the servants bring in a table and chairs. The warmth of the sun lifted some of the darkness that the prince had been carrying with him all day, like a beast on his back or a storm cloud over his head, threatening rain any moment. Here, he was reminded that he was human. Lately, Eric had been feeling as if he were just as much a creature of the night as his lover, who would never enter the Green Room unless he absolutely had to.

"It's a nice day outside," Eric told his wife Pamela who sat across the small table from him. "And what better way to spend the day than with than my beautiful wife?" he added teasingly. In fact, he had been spending quite a bit of time with her, and not only for the sake of keeping up appearances. He liked her. He could be himself with her. She didn't ask anything from him and he asked nothing of her. In a way, they understood one another. Eric respected her for the woman she was: strong, rebellious, and intelligent. With Eric, Pam, who had always felt trapped within the restrictions of her sex, felt free.

"I couldn’t think of a few ways to better spend it," she teased back with a grin of her own as she sipped her wine. "I haven't seen your little shadow sulking around here lately. Did you two have a fight?"

Eric looked away and shrugged heavily. "Oh, I'm never sure anymore," he admitted into his cup. "He doesn't understand many things."

"He is still young, he will learn." Pam tried to reassure him.

Eric snorted at that. Godric, young? For a vampire, perhaps. But he was older than he looked. He was the eldest heir to the throne, though he looked the youngest. "He's not so young, and I'm not sure he will ever learn," Eric clarified, and suddenly, it felt wrong for Eric to continue withholding things from her. "I can tell you a secret, can't I? Even if that secret will shock you and perhaps make you… Make you see Godric and perhaps the entire royal family differently?" he whispered as he leaned close to her over the table.

Yes, he trusted her. He knew Pam could manage the truth, as she had no doubt coped with far alarming realizations in her life and kept far deeper secrets. He no longer wished to be alone in this.

Little did either of them know, however, that they were not alone. After all, the walls of the castle always had had wide-open ears and eyes that hungrily soaked up rumors and secrets like parched soil. In this case, Liam was the fly on the wall as he listened from the dark hallway outside the room, hoping to catch proof that his brother and new wife had not actually consummated their marriage. However, when he heard their voices lower to whispers, Liam’s thin lips pulled back to reveal the mouth of a smiling shark when he realized he was about to hear something far more entertaining.

"I won't see him any differently," Pam promised as she leaned closer to Eric. "You've trusted me with your secrets before. You know I will hold my tongue.” She grinned. “Is it deliciously scandalous?"

Eric smirked. Deliciously scandalous, indeed. It was something that would bring the entire kingdom to its knees if only the people knew, and it was simply too large of a secret for Eric to keep to himself. "You must tell no one. But Godric's mother... Was a vampire." He came out with it bluntly.

Pam frowned at Eric's words. Her own home had never been victimized by vampires like this kingdom’s capitol city, so she did not know much about them other than what she had learned from stories and myths as a child. "Forgive me, but I thought vampires were some sort of monsters. Godric is a strange boy, but he is no monster."

Eric was amazed at how good he felt after telling another soul. "Yes, well..." He sighed. "He is half human, the King’s first son. Perhaps that is why.”

"Maybe...” Pam seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Does he...you know, drink blood?"

"Yes. Mainly my blood," Eric admitted shamelessly, watching her surprised expression. "Do you disapprove? My parents were killed by vampires and for years I thought only of killing every last one of them. But…he isn't like them. Not really. I suppose some can be just as complex as humans. The King’s mistress was a vampire without him even knowing."

"Is that why you were fighting?" Pam asked curiously. "Because of what he is?"

"It is always something that contributes, yes," Eric admitted, though he couldn't really remember what had started their latest argument. "It's not important. What is important is that this remains a secret between us. I like conversing with you," he told her truthfully. He admired her, even more now than he had before he told her the secret. For a woman, she was remarkable. It was a shame, really, that she was bound from so much by her gender.

"I won't tell anyone. His life could be in danger if that secret got out," Pam promised thoughtfully.

"Crueler monsters have ruled this kingdom before. Who knows, maybe he will surprise us and be the future king after all." Eric laughed softly, but truthfully, none of it mattered to him. He always cared so little for politics. It wasn’t in his blood, after all, as it was in a man’s of true royalty.

From the hallway, Liam heard it all. At first, he was sure that what he was hearing was wrong. It was simply unbelievable to think that his father had an older son... And that that illegitimate son was less-than-human. But the more he overheard, the more sense it began to make. The boy was a savage, even adorned in jewels and fancy clothes. He refused to enter rooms such as the one Eric and his wife now occupied, which was full of sunlight. He chose to sleep on the stone floor rather than a warm bed. He never ate. He never drank. At least, not like most men.  
The realization that this was all horrifyingly true hit Liam like the castle walls themselves falling down upon him. But through the chaos of his frantically panicking mind, he realized something else.

He had just discovered Godric's weakness.

"What are you doing?" Godric's soft voice came from right behind Liam, and the prince jumped into the air and his hand came over his mouth just in time to stifle an embarrassingly high-pitched yelp. The creature had snuck up behind him, cocking his head at him curiously, the same way a reptile might eye its prey.

Liam removed his hand and held his head high with mock confidence. "N-nothing. It is none of your business! I am just making sure the brute is being good to his lady. And what exactly are you doing, imp?"

Godric's head tilted to the side even more as he studied his human half-brother. "Eric would not hurt Lady Pamela."

Liam tried to back away, to create distance between them without looking so much like a frightened animal. "Of course not," he muttered defensively, his voice still sharper and higher pitched than he would have liked. "But I am not the only one prying. What would they think if they knew our little brother was listening in?" He tried to keep his thoughts to himself, lest they be overheard by some telepathic power.

"I really don't care what they think," Godric said.

Liam scoffed at the boy's obvious lack of morals. "No, I suppose you don't. I'm off, then," he announced quickly, but instead of turning his back towards the boy, he backed away without removing his eyes from him.

Godric watched, a bit bemused by the way the strange way this human was acting. "Liam," he called before the man could go too far. "How long is it customary to stay married?"

Liam was dumbfounded. "What? What kind of a question is that, boy?" he scoffed. "Shouldn't you be learning your words and studying like a normal prince? Go on now. Shoo." He waved his hands as if to chase away an annoying insect.

Godric did not like his questions not being answered. He took a few steps closer as he repeated insistently, "How long must Eric stay married to Lady Pamela?"

Liam stopped and stared before he realized that it was jealousy causing Godric to ask such nonsensical questions. His eyes narrowed. "Forever, of course. That is why it is a marriage. It is extremely improper to break the sacred vows," Liam explained, rubbing salt into Godric’s wound. "I think they are a lovely pair. But not quite as lovely as my Queen Jessica and I will be." He raised his chin cockily.

Forever... Godric did not like the sound of that. He also did not like the hostility he felt radiating off of his brother. "You are not interested in that girl... You are not interested in any girls, except for your own mother, of course." Godric exposed Liam’s vulnerability without blinking an eye. He spoke as if it were just a simple observation like the temperature of the air outside. "Fucking stable boys is probably not 'proper' is it?" Godric had known all along that he hadn't been the first prince to try and shag that stable boy. He had smelled Liam all over him.

That set something off in Liam that he could not seem to control. The devil! He was the devil himself! "Excuse me!? I am very interested in women! And besides, I don't see you chasing any girls’ skirts, you abomination! You will never marry!" he shouted.

That was when Eric suddenly burst into the hallway and interrupted with his own raised voice. "What is going on here?!"

Pam was behind Eric, looking at the three brothers curiously, still clutching her wine delicately in her hand.

"Nothing," Godric said innocently. "Are you enjoying your day?"

"Fucking imbecile," Liam cursed at Godric before finally turning his back and stomping away, his heels clicking heavily on the marble floor. None of it mattered now, he told himself. He knew that things would work out. He would win in the end. Armed with his new secrets, he would win in the end.

Eric watched Liam storm off. "What was he saying to you?" he demanded of Godric.

"Liam was just explaining to me what was proper and what was not," the vampire answered.

Eric fought the urge to march after Liam and beat the hell out of him. It wasn’t worth it, he decided after a brief moment. The other man would snap like a twig and it would hardly seem fair at all. He was probably going off to his mother who would tell him he was handsome and perfect and righteous. Sick bastard. Though Eric didn't care for politics, he still would rather die than see Liam take the crown after the King.

"Oh, he should know all about impropriety. He's just jealous that I have a beautiful wife and his bride-to-be thinks he is a disgusting worm!" Eric shouted, childishly hoping the disgusting worm would still hear him before he ran off to hide in his mother's sagging bosom.

Godric's cold stare turned to Pam at the mention of Eric's beautiful 'wife'. "I can assure you that he has no interest in Lady Pamela," he corrected.

Pam tried not shift uncomfortably under Godric’s glare. "Yes, but it is all about appearances for Liam. It always has been," Eric explained before he focused his attention back on Godric. "What are you doing here, anyway? You hate this room."

"Am I not allowed to explore my new home?" Godric transferred his glare to Eric.

Pam suddenly cleared her throat, sensing another argument rising. "Eric, dear, it was wonderful having lunch with you...but I'm meeting Lady Tara for a chat." She grinned, giving him a wink and a chaste kiss on his forehead. "It was good to see you, Lord Godric." She bowed formally, not wanting to upset him or seem as though she were intruding.

Eric smiled and nodded and watched her walk away. Godric waited until Pam’s footsteps faded completely before he pushed Eric roughly against the wall. The prince barely had time to tense before his feet were dangling off the floor.

"Did you have fun with your human wife?" Godric snarled.

Eric gasped and fought against him weakly. "Let me go!" he managed to growl, trying to pry his hands off of him. "You have a lot to learn, Godric!”

"I saw you sitting with her in the sun," Godric accused sadly. "You’d rather have her than me."

"For the gods’ sakes, Godric, let me down!" Eric insisted. It was humiliating being uprooted so easily by a teenager a little more than half his size. Godric hesitated before he finally released him, though not gently.

The second Eric’s feet found the ground he grabbed Godric by his waist and shoved him hard against the same wall. His lips immediately covered Godric’s in a deep, aggressive kiss, his tongue set on enticing the vampire’s little fangs to come out of hiding. "I don't do this with her," Eric told him once their mouths broke apart.

Godric’s breathing mirrored Eric’s by the time the kiss ended, though his lungs did not need the air. He gazed up at Eric in surprise just as his fangs suddenly elongated with an audible pop and he covered them self-consciously with his the palm of his hand.

Eric tried not to laugh. "Don't hide them from me," he smiled as he finally loosened his grip now that he was sure Godric wouldn’t fight him. "I don't care if you don't like the sun. And Pam is just a friend. She has made it abundantly clear that she has no interest in giving me children.”

Godric relaxed and wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck but was otherwise silent. It seemed that speaking only got him into trouble these days. "Even my good looks and charms do not work on her," Eric teased as he tried to lighten the mood.

“I'm sorry for accusing you," Godric whispered finally, but it wasn’t very convincing.

Eric smiled, and although he felt Godric's arms release him, he did not release his own grip on his lover. "No, you’re not. You don't regret anything. You'll always be jealous. And being with humans has made you too…apologetic."

"Being with you has made me apologetic," Godric corrected him.

Eric smirked and nuzzled Godric’s enticing, pale neck. "Should that worry me?"

"I don't know. You bring out my human nature," Godric admitted, but there was no emotion in his voice. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before he suddenly blinked twice and brought himself back. "Bedroom?" he asked hopefully.

"Hmm… What would we possibly go to my bedroom for?" Eric played innocent, but what Godric wanted was dangerously obvious. The vampire was paler than usual as if his flesh itself was drained of life. He looked like a hungry predator. The thought sent icy shivers up Eric's spine.

Godric’s fingers ghosted over Eric's pulse, pressing down only slightly over a vein. "I'm sure we can think of something to pass the time, Knight."

Eric’s pulse quickened under Godric’s cold fingers and he swallowed against them. "Well, come on, then. I'm sick of the sun, anyway," he announced. Dropping his hands from where they were fisted tightly in Godric’s clothing, Eric began to walk casually towards the direction of his room, knowing that like a shadow, Godric would follow.

As predicted, Godric stalked his prey all the way to the bedroom. Once they had both slipped inside unnoticed, Eric shut and bolted the heavy door quickly even as it groaned in protest. "You're hungry,” he stated bluntly as he turned around to face the boy. Godric had an alarmingly dark and wildly feral look in his eyes, and instantly Eric felt adrenaline rise in his blood as if he were in the presence of a wild animal.

There was certainly nothing human about Godric now. While it may be true that Eric brought out Godric’s long lost humanity, he just as often unleashed the animal within him. And it was the animal that consumed him now.

"Starving," Godric whispered the word like a prayer, but he did not make a move. He only continued to watch Eric.

Eric smiled cockily, loosened the tight collar of his shirt, and stretched luxuriously to shamelessly show off the way his muscles flexed. His arms reached above his head as if he were suddenly bored. "I'm quite hungry myself," he provoked teasingly. "I could go get you some fruit from the kitchen if Your Highness wishes it.”

The second Eric made a move to turn away from him Godric was blocking his exit faster than any human eyes could track. It caused even Eric to jump slightly. "I need you," Godric demanded, pushing the taller human onto the bed and crawling quickly on top of him.

Eric submitted easily, falling backwards with a lapful of Godric. "I was drinking wine. Lots of it. You might get drunk off of me." The knight laughed, though truthfully, he didn’t even know if it were possible. His vision blurred as his body cried out impatiently for the pain of the bite, the penetration of his lover’s little fangs into his drumming vein, the flow of nourishment…

"I don’t think it works like that." Godric tried to hold back a small smile of his own as he slowly nibbled up Eric's stretched neck. Eric wondered why Godric was holding back. Perhaps he wanted a push. Perhaps he wanted Eric to make him do it.

"That's disappointing," Eric pouted, because he would have liked, just once, to see Godric intoxicated. He wondered how the wine would color his face, how it would glitter in his lazy eyes. He wondered how it would slow his movements and make his body sluggishly needy on top of his.

Eric was distracted from his fantasy when finally he felt Godric's fangs graze his vein as if the vampire knew he had lost him to day-dreaming. Eric clenched his teeth and growled in frustration. "You're too hungry. Just bite me," he demanded bossily. His hands slid up Godric's loose fitting clothes to encourage him further and ran over his taunt nipples.

Godric moaned deliciously. Eric was right. He had been hungry for too long, and yet he enjoyed denying himself just to force Eric to admit that he enjoyed it when Godric fed on him. The vampire licked a gentle stripe up Eric's neck, lubricating the yielding flesh that was to be his feast.

So begging it is, then, Eric realized. This time, Godric wanted his prey to plead desperately. Eric moaned when he felt his lover's tongue ghost up his neck, and finally, he had had enough. "Please, Godric, I want it," he demanded shamelessly, the only way he would with Godric. "Bite me, make me yours."

Godric finally gave in with a growl and bit down harshly on Eric's neck. He moaned at the initial taste of the blood that slowly flowed hot and heavy into his dry mouth.

Eric experienced a powerful, whole-body shiver and had to quickly cover his mouth before he cried out too loudly from the painful pleasure of his lover's fangs sinking deliciously into his flesh. He arched into Godric, his cock already impossibly hard as he surrendered completely. This is what it must feel like to truly trust someone as he never had before, to hand over his life into another’s hands, to want to sacrifice.

Godric didn't take much, just enough to quench his thirst and satisfy his body’s and mind’s demands. When he drew back from the wound, his lips and chin were smeared bright red. Eric gripped him harder. The knight was delirious from the throbbing in his throat and the lust that flooded his body, but it had ended far too soon. "More, please... You need more," he tried.

"I need you to be able to fuck me. So no, I don't need more," Godric whispered as he rolled his hips expertly.

From just those words, Eric felt a boost of energy and grabbed Godric's lean waist to twist them around until he was on top of the vampire. He pressed his aching erection hard against Godric’s and Eric’s mouth naturally found his neck and bit down over the same place Godric had bitten him. His own teeth were frustratingly dull.

Godric moaned and pulled at Eric's shirt. "Clothing off," he ordered.

Eric made quick work of tearing off his vest and shirt and began to work impatiently at his trousers. "You too. These clothes do not suit you. I much prefer you the naked little savage that you are," he teased lovingly.

"You take them off me," Godric demanded, watching closely as Eric disrobed.

Eric made a show for Godric as he shimmied off his trousers and threw them to the floor. His cock jumped out, standing tall and pointing slightly up towards his abdomen. He wasted no time then with tearing at Godric's shirt until the buttons popped off in different directions and his beautiful, painted chest was exposed. Though his own heart was fluttering and his chest was heaving, Godric remained a statue.

Eric slowly licked up the length of his lover’s torso to try to bring him to life. Godric leaned back and watched with hooded eyes. "I like your mouth."

Eric nuzzled his hairless chest and bit one of his nipples as his hands worked quickly to untie his trousers and slide them down. "Mmm. I love every inch of you," the knight confessed.

Godric suddenly pulled Eric into a kiss as he freed himself from the rest of his clothing. Now that they were both naked, the world was right again.

Eric bore his human teeth and pressed his hips down on Godric’s, his mind swimming from the perfect friction their bodies made. But inside Eric was a different kind of hunger. It was a hunger to know what it all felt like for Godric. A hunger to have him in ways he couldn't, in ways only Godric could take him. "I want some of your blood," Eric whispered a little desperately into Godric’s ear.

"No," Godric said firmly and quickly. "Anything but that."

Eric bit down again on his throat in protest, but Godric’s skin was unresisting against the force of his blunt teeth. "Godric, please...just a few drops.” Reduced to begging again, Eric moved his hips against his lover’s and his hands slid down Godric’s thighs to hold Godric’s legs apart underneath him.

"Fuck me first," Godric told him in a way that was clearly meant only to distract Eric.  
Eric's hands wandered back up his thighs and decided to accept that deal even when he suspected it was an empty promise. His lips found Godric’s in a harsh kiss, feeling his lover's fangs graze his tongue and teeth and lips. One hand reached blindly out to grasp a glass vial from under his pillow…  
*  
Afterwards, Eric lay collapsed on top of Godric with his sweat-drenched forehead pressed heavily against Godric's unyielding chest. His rushed breathing fell hot against his lover's skin even as Godric took not a single breath.

 

"Amazing," Eric managed to say.

"You're quite impressive yourself, Your Highness," Godric teased as his fingers threaded through Eric's hair. He felt light as a feather as he basked lazily in the afterglow. The hunger gnawing at his soul had been chased away. It would return, but the vampire only cared then about the sense of peace he felt at that moment, as short lived as he knew it would be.

Godric’s rhythmic fingers on his scalp lulled Eric into mild trance. "I am nothing compared to you. I am only mortal," Eric whispered a little sadly.

The vampire was silent for a moment before he responded. "I enjoy that you are mortal. I wouldn't be able to live off of your blood if you were not." His accent was heavy now that he was drunk from pleasure and blood. He stumbled on the English words so much that Eric struggled to understand him through the thickness of his own haze.

Godric felt his lover’s lips spread into a grin. “Is that all I am to you, then? A good lay and good food?” Eric provoked, though his tone was light with jest.

That earned Eric a dramatic roll of Godric’s eyes, something he must have picked up from humans. "I could find food and a good lay anywhere, my Prince.”

Eric, with whatever energy he still had, propped himself up on his elbows to look down at his lover. "You mean you could not live off of me if I were like you?" he asked inquisitively.  
"I suppose I could, but you would taste different," Godric dismissed, and Eric, for once, did not argue. The vampire’s small, thin fingers moved lovingly over the punctures he had earlier made on Eric's neck, and a moment later, Eric heard the skin of the boy’s finger tearing against his fangs.

Eric reached up to stop Godric from healing him. "No. I like them," he insisted. And he did. He liked the lingering, sore pleasure. He liked feeling the memory of Godric's fangs breaking through his flesh the same way he liked the lingering phantom feeling of Godric’s tightness still around his spent cock.

Godric dropped his hand and a few more long minutes passed before Eric interrupted their peaceful silence again. "I still think you should give me your blood.” He approached the topic again slowly and cautiously. “We would be one. Just a few drops...”

"No,” was Godric’s practiced answer. “Didn't you learn your lesson the last time?"

Eric tried not to get angry when Godric talked to him as if he were a child. "Are you never going to give me a single drop again?" he accused. This time, it wasn’t just addiction and blood-lust that caused him to want it so badly. "You know, Godric, I am to be a year older next month. And every year after that I will keep aging while you remain exactly as you are. How do you plan to keep me when one day I'll be an old man and become disgusting to you?"

Eric did not mention, however, that he never actually planned on ever becoming an old man. No, he would never waste away from disease or age. He would die in battle…or not at all.

Godric frowned. Though it was always hard to read his expressions, Eric knew there was sadness and disappointment in his increasingly distant eyes. "What are you really trying to ask me, Eric?"

Eric shifted nervously. "I think you know," he whispered, and left it at that.

"That means I would have to kill you to turn you, Eric, and you would wake to be just like the monsters who killed your parents. Is that what you want?" Godric’s tone was frighteningly calm.

Eric sighed and rolled off of his lover to lie beside him. "No. But I don't want to lose you," he admitted.

"And I don't want you to grow to hate me for taking away your human life," Godric told him.

Eric turned over onto his side to look at his lover who was so beautiful with immutable youth. "I wouldn't. I wouldn't hate you for bringing me closer to you," he argued.

Godric stared unblinking up at the elaborately painted ceiling. Cherubs danced around the architecture, infantile and innocent and frozen in time. "I don’t want you to die at all, but you are still young. We have time together." Godric said, if only to mask his own uncertainty.

Eric sat up to glare down at him. That wasn’t fair. "Time? You have time. You have limitless time... My life is nothing but a moment compared to yours. An insect’s life! What will you do once I age? Will you leave me?" he demanded. “You know nothing of time.”

"Of course I won't leave you," Godric defended himself weakly.

"I never planned to live out my old age, anyway. I will die in battle or become ill if you do not turn me. We will lose each other. I just...want to be what you are. I want to feel what you feel. I want us to be equal. Even if it means becoming a monster."

"So you still think of me as a monster?" Godric asked in that calm tone again.

At first, Eric did not know how to answer. He wished he could take his words back. "You are different. And I know I would be, as well," he told him.  
"I'm an abomination and you would be an even larger one," Godric argued tonelessly.

Eric stared down at his lover and did not know whether to be offended or not. "And why would I be an abomination?" he demanded. "We would live together as equals!"

"We would not be equals Eric. I would be your Maker. I would hold power over you," Godric tried to explain, though it was clear his patience was wearing thin.

Eric lay back down on the thick furs next to Godric and shivered. He could feel no warmth radiating off of the vampire’s smaller body and Eric was cold now that the sweat on his body was drying. "You hold power over me now. How would it be different? And you think you are so clever, the way you avoid my questions. Why would I be a larger abomination?"

"You don't understand the way of my kind, Eric,” the boy reasoned. “Those that are turned by another are nothing more than their maker's slave."

"You would not treat me like a slave. You can teach me all you know!" the knight insisted.

Godric huffed in annoyance. "I don't want to discuss this anymore. Be quiet and go to sleep."

Eric was not going to let him leave it at that. To him, in that moment, Godric had his life in his hands. "Just because you don't want to talk further doesn't mean I'm going to let you change the subject. I've already lived, Godric. I want more! I want to be like you. We could be together forever!" He tried to hold back from shouting.

In a very childish manner, Godric reached his hands over his ears and clenched his eyes shut. "I'm not turning you, Eric, and that's all I'm going to say about it!" He finally snapped.

Eric sighed when Godric shut him out. He was stubbornly silent as he waited patiently for Godric's hands to drop and his eyes to open again. "Well, if you're going to change your mind, you better do it soon while I am still young and beautiful," Eric muttered angrily.

"It is not just your beauty that I care so much about," Godric growled.

Eric held back his frustration. "Then you will lose me one day."

"Stop pushing this." Godric warned.

Eric liked the darkness in his lover's tone then. "I like pushing you," he admitted.

"That's because you are a menace."

The prince was finally silenced when he realized he could not argue with that. Afraid of what Godric might do if he truly reached his limit, the human was silent despite the argument that still sat urgently at the tip of his tongue.

Godric seemed to sigh in relief when his lover did not respond and gracefully shifted onto his side until his back was against Eric. Eric sighed and wrapped his arms slowly around the vampire from behind. "Fine. I will speak of it no longer. Just don't turn away from me," he insisted.

Godric allowed the embrace. "You drive me crazy, Eric."

"Likewise." Eric kissed the nape of Godric's neck. "You were jealous earlier. Of my time with Pam. You were spying."

"Like I said, you make me crazy and I do crazy things." Godric slowly melted against the human’s warmth.

Eric smiled. "I like when you’re a little crazy. This castle gets stuffy and you are the only one that gives it life anymore."

"You have everything you could ever need here. You should be grateful you have a roof over your head at night," Godric chastised him.

"Then you should, too, even though I'm sure you would rather be naked in the forest and dancing in the rain." Eric tried to coax back the earlier light-hearted atmosphere.

Godric turned in Eric's arms so he could look at him. "I don't dance."

Eric smiled when Godric turned to face him. He was alarmingly beautiful with his dark hair rumpled from sex. "I can teach you.”

"No thank you," Godric told him seriously.

"Don't vampires dance?" Eric asked, though it made him feel as ignorant as a child. Despite their close proximity to the capitol city and popularity in legend, humans knew very little about the Forest Vampires and Wolves. The only reason Eric did not ask Godric more questions was because he knew how his lover disliked them. And yet he had always pictured the Vampires as a tribal people, with lively dances and rituals around a fire.

"The only things vampires do is eat and fuck," Godric said crudely.

"I don't believe you. You were brought up in that dark world and yet there is light in you," Eric tried to reason. He was still hoping that Godric would tell him the truth.

"You see light because that is what you want to see," Godric snarled his reply.

Eric waited another moment before gathering the courage to speak again. "Please, Godric, I am trying to understand. You are not pure evil, yet you believe them to be?"

"You were right to call me a monster and a savage, Eric. That is what they are and that is what I am and I want you to understand this so you never ask me to turn you again."

Eric nuzzled Godric closer, hoping to coax his lover into remaining gentle. "You are different. There must be more out there that are as different as you. There also must be a difference between those born as savages and men that have become them..."

Godric calmed under Eric's touch. "I'm different because I'm able to distance myself from the primal part of being a vampire," he lied.

"No, you haven't. Though now you wear a prince’s clothes and politely pretend to eat your dinner, you are still the boy I captured in the forest. You haven't distanced yourself from anything," Eric argued.

Godric's fangs snapped into place, and faster than his human eyes could see, he pushed Eric onto his back and growled into his face. "If I'm still that monster, then why aren't you more afraid?"

Eric tried not to laugh as Godric tried to intimidate him. "Because I trust you. And I think you are beautiful like this.”

Godric growled again. "I could rip you to shreds, human," he threatened as he ran his nails down Eric's chest and left a bloody trail behind.

Eric gasped when he felt Godric draw blood and arched against him. "You wouldn't. You and I were meant for each other," he told him absent-mindedly.

Godric quickly lapped up the thin line of blood. This time, it was he who laughed. "What makes you think that?"

"Because it was one of Marius' prophecies," Eric whispered, barely able to form words as Godric's tongue collected the blood. "And because I will never feel the same way about any other as I do for you. You should consider yourself privileged, you know."

Godric's head abruptly jerked up at that. "What prophecies?" he demanded. "You shouldn't trust the wizard, Eric."

Eric stared mindlessly at the vampire’s blood stained lips as they moved. "Why? He's a harmless old man and he's never been wrong.” However, Eric briefly wondered if he had said too much. In his lust, he had forgotten that Godric knew nothing about why he was here.

"Eric, tell me what the wizard said."

Eric opened his mouth and closed it again quickly in a silent stutter. "I thought it didn't matter what old wizard's say," he challenged.

Godric growled, and this time, he wrapped his fingers around Eric's throat and squeezed. "Do not play games with me, Eric. Is that why the King sent you out looking for me? Because of some old man's dream?"

Eric panicked when he felt Godric's vice-like grip around his breakable human throat and cried out as much as he could. He kicked Godric with his legs furiously, feeling absolutely helpless for perhaps the first time in his life.

Godric released him but only to pin his hands down to the bed. Eric coughed hoarsely. "Tell me now," he commanded.

Eric’s voice was scratchy when he spoke. "Release me and I'll tell you!"

"No.”

Eric was hurt by this and pain showed through in his rage. "Yes! You cannot be angry at me, I had nothing to do with it! Let me go!"

It was only the fear of servant’s hearing Eric that Godric reluctantly let go. Eric hurried away from him, even going as far as jumping off of the bed to stand shakily on his feet. He grabbed a fur blanket to cover himself up as he glared at Godric and swallowed hard against his dry, aching throat. "My - our father heard from Marius that Liam's rule will bring nothing but destruction and murder to the kingdom. But his other son... his lost son... will bring peace," he muttered angrily.

"So that is the reason? You brought me here to save your kingdom?!" Godric snapped.

"Well, Godric, why did you think you were brought here?" It wasn’t meant to be as sarcastic as it sounded. Eric always did want to know what his lover really thought.

"I thought my father wanted me!" Godric yelled.

Eric did not expect his own heart to break then at the sound of those words. It did not stop him, however, from masking his pity and throwing a pillow at his lover's face. "Of course he wanted you. You should see the way he looks at you - like you are the only son that matters!" He shouted. It was true, after all, and if Godric could not see it, then he was blind.  
Godric shook his head. "You are the one he looks at in adoration, Eric. You are a fool if you cannot see that."

Eric sighed. It was time for a different approach. "He sees your mother in you. He was in love with her and she broke his heart when she left," Eric tried to explain. "He wants you as a son. You just do not speak to him. You are aloof and he does not understand you."

"Of course he does not understand me. I fight every instinct I have not to rip his throat out! He should count himself lucky that I am just aloof to him."

Eric narrowed his eyes at Godric then. "And what reason do you have to hate our father?"

"I hate him because everything he has said is a lie," Godric told him. "I hate him because you love him."

"What lies has he told, Godric?!"

"Everything he has said is a lie! He doesn't love me and he most certainly did not love my mother! She told me stories of the cruelty of men!" Godric yelled.

Eric felt frustration rise up into him but knew that the angrier Godric became, the more irrational he would be and therefore less likely to listen. "Calm down, Godric," he pleaded softly. "You aren't thinking straight. Your mother saw a lot of cruelty in men, I'm sure, but not in the King. He is a good man. He is loved and respected in this kingdom, especially after so many corrupt rulers before him. He saved me as an orphan in the forest and took me in as his own."

"Yes, that was very convenient, wasn't it? Did he take in all the orphans in his city?" Godric asked sarcastically.

"What is your point, Godric?" Eric asked.

Godric shook his head and sighed, and though Eric waited, Godric said nothing more. Eventually, Eric turned towards the window and leaned against it, staring out at the moon’s slow rise  
and sun’s quick descent and feeling the evening chill over his naked chest. He could hear the servants talking down the hall and the stray dogs barking in the distant village.

There was an odd sort of silence over the Earth then. The birds had ceased chirping as if they knew there was a storm brewing.

*

Liam stared down at the Queen as she rested alone amongst her furs. He could smell the alcohol on her breath as she snored softly and knew she would not wake again until the morning.  
That was fine, he thought. Perfect, actually.

At first, he thought about confiding in her. But the fear of her finally going mad had forced him to continue to keep the secret to himself. Besides, she would find out on her own in due time.

In fact, the entire kingdom would.

He would not be the one to tell them, however. He had much bigger plans. And although fear caused him to tremble, his pride and anger conquered that fear. He gazed down at his mother, once a young and beautiful bride, but now beaten down by grief and the heartbreak of an unfaithful king and husband. Looking down at the woman she had become only fueled the vengeful fire that raged inside of him.

As he left her room, Liam bolted the door closed, locking her inside and keeping everything else out. Tonight, she would be safe. She was the only one he wished to be spared from all of this.

He was about to bring a war to the kingdom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a birthday gift to user nurse_darry, who keeps our Godric/Eric fics alive. Happy birthday!

It was very late that night when Godric left Eric to walk through the castle gardens, knowing that they both could use some time alone from one another. The prince loved the lush, vast gardens behind the fortress at night. By day, the gardens were full of gossiping servants and gardeners forced to keep the lawn and roses under totalitarian rule. The sun was always far too bright for Godric, it burned his eyes and dried his skin. But the moon bathed him in radiance and welcomed him. It made him feel like himself again in a world that would not accept him. Godric knew that after a fashion, nothing renewed him more than solitude.

By night, the gardens belonged to him. It belonged to the snakes and toads and worms and other night creatures hidden by day. The grass could grow as nature intended. Godric could hear the soft breeze blow through the bushes and the rabbits scurrying across the stone path. Yet after a few moments, he knew that he was not as alone with the night as he hoped to be. He could smell his half-brother lingering somewhere nearby. He could smell his tainted blood corrupting the pure night air.

Liam watched Godric as he walked through the gardens, seemingly not at all phased by the darkness that surrounded them. The fear that ran through Liam was overwhelming, and he was sure the monster walking through the roses could smell it, hear it, feel it... but it was too late to turn back now. He had already come too far. And he was going to get his way.

This was the hard part, Liam told himself. He calmed his nerves and filled himself to the brim with anger instead. Finally, that fueled him to step out of the bushes in front of Godric, the silver hidden behind him.

"What are you doing outside the castle walls this time of night? Don't you know there are monsters about?" Liam taunted, his body tense.

Godric hadn’t displayed the slightest bit of surprise, just a mildly curious tilt of his head. He stopped his walk to look the other prince over, but noticed he was hiding something behind his back. He knows, Godric realized slowly. Liam knows what I am.

"I am not afraid, but I can tell you are," Godric said to the other boy. "What is it that you fear, Liam?"

Liam trembled, but didn't even blink as he stared at the vampire. "I fear nothing," he lied. His hands clenched around the silver behind him. "I know what you are. I know what you are doing."

Godric raised an amused eyebrow. "Tell me what I am doing then," he challenged, and behind his closed lips, his fangs slowly elongated.

Liam did not answer. He hesitated only for a moment, staring straight into Godric's grey eyes before he jumped on the vampire and immediately threw Godric's smaller body down onto the sharp roses and growled into his face.

Godric hadn’t thought the boy would possess the bravery to attack him, which led to the embarrassment of being so easily captured by a human for the second time in his life. He knew instantly that Liam, as scrawny and pitiful as he seemed, was not to be underestimated. The jealous, forgotten son of the King had been driven to madness.

The vampire immediately hissed in agony. The silver did not just burn his skin, but boiled the very blood inside of his veins. It burned until he could smell his skin roasting as if the sun itself had swallowed him whole and all he could see behind his eyelids was white hot pain. Godric was immediately powerless as the silver chain bound and crippled him.

Liam was surprised how easy it was to restrain the vampire when his weapon was used properly. He could hear the sizzle, smell the burn, and practically feel the trembling pain himself. It only excited him further. It made him feel as invincible as the Knight slaying the dragon in the books he read as a child. "I'll tell you what we are doing," he growled close to Godric’s ear. He was too far gone now to turn back. He had all his ducks in a row now. "We are going into the Vampire Forest. We are going to speak to the monsters there you know so well. And when we tell them what has been done to you, we are going to bring them to Rowan. They will attack the castle, kill the King, and you will return back to the forest like the animal you are. Then and only then…will I take my rightful seat on the throne.”

Godric swallowed painfully and froze under his burning bonds once the pain was so intense that it began to numb him. The more still he remained, the more energy he could conserve in order to break free and snap this human’s neck. "Vampires do not make deals with humans," Godric hissed through clenched teeth. "They will rip your throat and feast on your blood!"

Liam tightened the silver and enjoyed the whimper he received. "That's why I have you, brother," he spat. "And it's a risk I am willing to take. I would rather die bravely in war than die watching a creature like you take my father's crown which rightfully belongs to me!"

Was the throne really worth all this trouble? Godric could feel his own mind try to slip away, to fall into the same depths of madness that overcame Liam. Just when he felt he was about to fall unconscious, Godric's body was being hoisted to its feet, and somehow by some deep-seated primal desire to survive, his legs held himself erect. Without further argument, Liam held onto the chain that enslaved him and led Godric out of the gardens and towards the edge of the woods.

It took them an hour to reach the edge of the forest on slow feet. Liam glared at his ominous future in the foreboding trees. There was just enough moonlight that the human could make out the defined border of Rowan and the territory of Beasts. Liam listened for the tremble of branches, the terrifying howl of a wolf, but he heard nothing. It was deathly silent except for the sound of his own irregular breathing and the slow hiss of his captive’s burning skin.

Godric felt his chest tightening and panted as if he were human. He closed his eyes when they paused in front of the forest and tried to swallow a scream. He could feel the other vampires before he could see them. They knew the princes were there. The tribe so rarely ventured this close to the edge of the wood, but Godric knew it was his presence that drew them closer into neutral territory. His only wish then was for them to storm out from behind the trees and make Liam suffer as he was suffering.

"Are they near?" Liam looked behind him to demand, his voice shaking.

"They have been near since we left the castle." Godric’s voice was as raw as his skin and he spoke through gritted fangs. He wanted to scare Liam, to show him how his plan was going to fail. Godric knew Liam's dull human senses felt nothing and he heard nothing but his own insane thoughts. "I will not protect you from them."

Liam did not let that terrify him. His madness could not be stopped. He looked around the darkness, hearing nothing but the wind through the trees. "The silver will protect me. The Gods will protect me," he told Godric factually and pulled on his silver leash. "Tell them, then. Tell them to show themselves. Tell them you were taken away from them to be the monster King of Rowan. Tell them to go to Rowan and take their revenge...but to spare me, for I have gifted you back to them."

Godric could not repeat those words. He could not bring terror to the Kingdom. He could not endanger Eric as he peacefully slept. "Go back into the forest!" he shouted instead to the trees in his native tongue.

Liam didn't have to be intelligent to know that Godric had not translated directly. The prince clenched the silver chains in his arms until his knuckles turned white as he watched the savages crawl from the forest and into the moonlight. They were beasts to Liam, who saw what his mind wanted to see and what fear told him to see. They were animals with red, glowing eyes, naked and painted and enormous.

Liam froze in fear and his hand loosened around the bounds. After that, it was easy for Godric to break free and the chains fell away from him. That was when Godric, his skin already beginning to heal, began to slowly back away. His breathing still ragged from the pain, Godric ran so fast that Liam did not realize he had escaped until he was gone, leaving behind only the bloody silver chains in ruins on the ground.

Godric had to get to Eric before it was too late. He only wished that leaving Liam behind like bait would subdue the Vampires, would distract them from the fact that they saw him in chains and would want revenge. But he knew his clan would come tonight for two reasons: to take Godric back and to kill everyone surrounding him.

*

Eric woke from his sleep and instantly felt the void beside him and the hunger for his lover. The kingdom was quiet tonight, so quiet that Eric didn't think he would rest again until the sun rose. He did not sense Godric around anywhere which immediately unsettled him, and determined to find him, Eric left his bedchamber to follow his lover's small barefoot tracks to the garden.

Though Eric hadn't tasted Godric for weeks, he could still feel his blood come alive on nights like this like an electric current through his veins. Eric senses were heightened. He could smell the roses from ten feet away, hear the scurrying of a mouse in the underbrush, and see his path in the dark. He could smell traces of his lover in the flowers, in the air and in the dirt. It did not comfort him the way he had hoped.

Something was not right. There was no breeze in the air tonight like the calm before a storm. He remembered the way the cold air pinched his skin the night his family was killed and he shivered and brought his arms over his chest. As he stepped further into the garden, Eric could also smell the familiar, rich, delicious scent of blood.

Godric’s blood.

Eric strained to listen to the night beyond him with the superior hearing Godric had given him. He could just hear something loud and heavy in the distance like horse hooves and a strong wind. The knight jumped violently when he heard a voice behind him. When he regained his footing and turned to see the wizard, Eric heaved a heavy sigh of relief and felt his heart finally slow to normal. Still, it was strange. What was Marius doing here when Eric had thought he was alone? Was it his magic in the air that had spooked him?

"Prince, you should come inside," Marius instructed him urgently, his eyes cleverly void of emotion. "A storm is coming."

"What?" Eric eyed him strangely and looked up at the clear sky full of stars. "There is no-"

"I said come inside!" The wizard interrupted him with the commanded and Eric fell silent in shock from the tone Marius had taken. Not since he was a boy had Eric heard anyone utter such a demand to him.

*

Godric ran as fast as he could, knowing that his plan to distract the tribe with Liam as prey had not worked as he had hoped. Liam was still alive and no blood other than Godric's own had been spilt. But the Vampires were following his scent, their tongues practically licking at his heels, and Godric knew the ground would be wet with blood by daybreak. The night was still young.

The Vampire prince only stopped fleeing when he pulled up suddenly at Eric’s side, frightening his human lover more than the creeping wizard had. Godric did not wait for Eric to calm down before he grabbed hold of his arm and forced Eric back towards the castle doors. Godric offered no explanation. They could not afford words to slow them down.

Eric could not fight to break free as Godric pulled them faster than his own mind could think. "What in the hells are you doing?" the knight demanded, his hand instinctively clenched on the hilt of his sword.

"You have to hide. The castle is under attack," Godric told Eric quickly as he shoved them both inside and bolted the door shut. “Your guards will know soon enough. Come with me!”

Eric refused to move any further and took back ownership of his arm. "No, it isn't!" he insisted. Godric looked frantic, weak, and hungry. Dirt stained his pale cheeks, blood was soaked through his clothes, and his skin was covered in slashes as though he had been whipped. "What were you doing? And what happened to you?!"

"I was attacked by Vampires. Liam led them here," Godric explained, angry that Eric was wasting time asking questions at a time like this.

Eric was silent for a moment as he thought about what Godric had said. "What? How can a Vampire be attacked by Vampires? And why wouldn't they just rip Liam to pieces?" he asked, trying to remain in denial. It couldn’t be.

"Eric! You need to come with me! They are after me and they will know you are mine!" Godric snapped, though it took from him almost all the effort he had.

Eric narrowed his eyes at his lover. "You're... you're serious," he stammered, and Godric could see the realization cross his lover’s face. Disbelief melted into rage and the violence that came over Eric then encompassed him completely. With an angry growl, he stormed back to the closed castle doors and drew his sword with a sharp metal hiss. "I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!"

Godric grabbed Eric and threw him quickly onto his back on the floor. "No, you will not. I will not allow you to die. They are stronger than I am, I cannot protect you from them."

Eric fought against him without success. Though weakened, Godric was still stronger. "You don't understand!” he shouted as he heard the first horrifying screams as the kingdom was awakened. The Vampires had reached the castle. “This is my destiny! This is what I am meant to do! My whole life, this is what I was meant to do!"

"Your destiny is with me, by my side. Nothing more, nothing less," Godric whispered into Eric's ear as calmly as his nerves would allow. They would not be alone much longer.

"I have to do this," Eric growled. "They killed my parents. That charge is older than my destiny with you. It is written in stone."

"No. Nothing is written in stone! Why can’t you humans understand?!" Godric replied fiercely. "Your family is dead and you are mine."

"I have to avenge them!" Eric shouted in disagreement, though his struggle was weakening. The screams became louder.

Godric only tightened his grip on his lover. "I cannot allow it!"

Eric focused his panicked eyes on Godric's face then and felt himself almost wanting to acquiesce. "Let me go. This doesn't concern you," he demanded. “You know nothing of destiny! Your life is too long to know how important this can be to a man!”

"Stop fighting me, my child," Godric commanded, and the term seemed to surprise him as much as it surprised Eric.

Eric’s struggling in Godric's iron grip finally ceased and his expression softened. "What kind of knight would I be if I hid like a coward and did not defend my own castle? My king and my honor and my lover?" he whispered, but Eric knew they were already out of time.

"The kind that lives," Godric said as he loosened his hold and pulled Eric into an embrace. Eric's warm human skin was a balm to his own burnt flesh. “The kind that will continue to live by my side.”

Eric had no choice then but to cling to Godric, to inhale his scent that naturally calmed him, not like a breath of fresh morning air but like a calm night breeze. Everything else around him dissolved as Eric filled his senses with him.

This euphoric moment of peace was quickly interrupted when the banging of fists and claws tearing through wood set Eric's mind to a panic. "We have to go," Godric ordered again and this time, Eric did not fight him.

Eric felt Godric release his mind from his own and he snapped back as if waking from sleep. His mind was fuzzy as if he wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. "Where are we going?" he asked, clinging to the vampire desperately.

"Where can we go that is safe, Eric?" Godric quickly asked.

Eric, still slightly spellbound, could only speak the truth to him. "The dungeon. No one goes to the dungeon," he said. “The Old King tortured hundreds of criminals there… But my father says the practice is old-fashioned and cruel… Marius says the place is haunted.” Eric remembered the stories well from his youth. After Liam had cruelly whispered awful tales into his ear at night with the intent of disrupting his peaceful dreams with nightmares, Eric had decided to be brave and investigate the dungeon himself. He had expected to slay fire-breathing dragons and angry spirits and climb back to the warm sun a hero that day. Instead, he opened those iron doors to find the very pit of Hell. He remembered how frightened he had been and how brave he wanted to be. Marius found him an hour later, shivering in a corner in his father’s bedchambers and commanded him never to enter again. Eric hadn’t since.

Godric moved them quickly, not listening to Eric’s dizzy ramblings. "Let’s go. Now."

Eric nearly flew through the air and struggled to keep up as they moved together, his hand never leaving Godric's through the halls and down to the dungeon that hadn’t been used for more than fifty years. The door was smothered in cobwebs and protested even as the Vampire opened it. The lock was sturdy, but just before it snapped into place, Eric came to his senses and remembered his duties.

"Wait! No! I have to protect the King!" The knight shouted, reaching for the door.

"Forget the King," Godric hissed, forcing Eric to sit down in the corner farthest from the door. The single room smelled of death and rat piss.

Eric fought against him even as he heard the castle being swarmed by the fanged, blood drinking insects. He heard the metal screeching of swords, the choking death of the guards, the screams of the female servants. His own blood ran cold. "The King is our father, Godric! I am sworn to protect him!"

Godric hugged Eric tighter but his intense gaze never left the door. To muffle Eric's shouts, he placed his hand firmly over Eric's mouth.

It did not take very long for the army of Vampires to find the dungeon and lunge at its entrance, having followed the smell of their kin. It took less than a minute for them to break down the iron door. When at last they had stormed their way into the darkness, Eric saw that they were red with the blood of his people.

He had finally met the fire-breathing dragons.

Eric immediately stood and unsheathed his sword, but the Vampires were not focused on him. What he knew only had to be the leader of the group spoke in a tongue he did not understand.  
"Godric,” the monster said. His voice slithered like a snake. He was fat with blood and lustful for carnage and his eyes blazed green. “We have come to take you back."

Godric’s usually sharp mind was paralyzed with fear at the thought of losing Eric. Shakily, he stood up from the cold, wet stone ground. "This is my home," he answered in their language.

The Vampires were clearly alarmed and began to grow restless, murmuring and growling to one another. "Nonsense. Your home is with us. Have you forgotten they brought you here in silver chains as a slave? You belong with us. These humans are not your people."

As the leader spoke again, Eric felt strongly disadvantaged for not understanding the conversation and tensed when they motioned vaguely towards him. "This human... You have mated with him. He has your blood in his veins. This is against our laws."

"He is mine!" Godric shouted.

The Vampires surged with anger. "You are ours! They have muddled your mind! You will leave with us or we will bring war to the Kingdom of Men!" the leader threatened.

"I am the human King's son,” Godric finally admitted when he felt himself passing the point of desperation. He was silent for a few moments to allow the shock of it to settle. “I belong here with the humans."

The leader took a few quick strides towards Godric, towering over the smaller Vampire while the others held the doors shut against the human guard’s weak attempts to break in. The Vampires were outnumbered, but even one of these monsters could bring a Kingdom to its knees. "That isn't true! You have been corrupted by these apes! Your mother was our kin!" the Vampire shouted. Eric's fist tensed around his sword.

"I am not one of you! I never have been!" Godric growled. “My mother taught me how to walk in the light! To see as a human sees! To speak as a mortal speaks! To be more than what you say we should be, to leave the confines of the Hell we create for ourselves! We are not servants of evil. We are animals just like the humans!”

The leader fell silent then and Eric frantically looked between Godric and the beast in front of him. When the leader finally did speak, it was with utmost certainty. "You have chosen your fate, then. You are a disgrace among us. If we ever find your scent near the forest again, we will eat your heart," he snarled. His teeth were razor sharp as he hissed like a serpent. "Now give us the human warrior," he demanded, and not waiting for Godric to submit, the pack surged forward in unison towards them both.

Eric instantly prepared for battle the second he sensed the Vampires were not going to leave empty-handed. In that moment, nothing else mattered to Eric but killing every single one of them. "Get away from him!" he screamed as he raised his sword and lunged at the leader who had spoken in such harsh tones to his lover.

The Vampires were faster. The last thing Eric remembered was a tremendous feeling of loss before his world was submerged in red. He could barely feel the four sets of fangs sinking into his arteries and taking his life from its source. His body fought fruitlessly and he fell unconscious.

*

Godric stirred awake a few hours later. He did not know how long he had been lying broken and beaten and unconscious on the dungeon floor, though he could sense that the sun was beginning to yawn awake. He was surprised that he was still alive after the impact of his already weak body against the wall. He had begun to heal in his sleep, but the pain still sat heavy within him. He immediately sniffed the air for Eric’s scent, but could not find him through the heavy stench of stale blood flooding the castle grounds.

Liam jumped when he saw the Vampire’s body suddenly come back to life. He hadn't known at first if the boy was still alive or not, since he was as pale and lifeless as a corpse on a battlefield. Liam felt half-dead himself and he knew he may as well be. Eric was gone and was no longer a threat, but Godric remained, and if alive, could be the end of him. If he was still alive, killing Godric would be the only way.

Liam had expected death to come much sooner that night when he first turned around to realize his translator had escaped and left him face-to-face with the beasts. He closed his eyes, wet himself, and whimpered to the Gods that his death would come swiftly. Yet he waited, and death did not come. He was alone when he opened his eyes and rushed back to the kingdom just in time to watch it burn. His only thought was to hide in the dungeon where he found Godric’s body broken on the ground.

Liam crawled towards Godric as if he were approaching a sleeping bear and glared viciously down at him. "You have to lie. You have to tell everyone it wasn't me," he commanded.

Godric grabbed the human by the neck and lifted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing. He was done with compromise. "Your main concern right now should be how long it will take me to kill you... Because I'm going to take you apart slowly," the vampire grinned evilly.

Liam fell limp in Godric's grip, no longer having the energy to fight or even soil his trousers in fear. "Please, just kill me quickly...." he gagged.

"Oh, no," Godric hissed, his grip tightening as he watched the human’s face turn different shades of blue. Godric did not feel an ounce of humanity in his soul then as he watched Liam suffer. "I will keep you alive for a long, long time. You are not worthy of a swift death. You will die down here in your own filth with the demons toying with your mind! The entire kingdom will know it was Liam, son of the King who brought terror to the people! They will raise their cups of wine when you die!”

Liam closed his eyes and tears overflowed. "Please..." he begged for the first time in his life, knowing his murderer and the dungeon ghosts were his only witnesses. Godric laughed demonically and dropped Liam to the ground. His body collapsed into a boneless heap, making it easy for the Vampire to shove him into a tiny, dirty cell and slam the door. “You will remain here until I decide you are ready to die,” he commanded. “My brother.”

That was when the King himself thrust open the door, having followed the sound of voices. When he saw Godric standing in the darkness, he hesitated in fear only for a moment before running over to him. “My boy! Oh, my boy! I thought I was hearing things… I thought I was hearing the spirits themselves waking from the dead!” He embraced Godric, but the Vampire only tensed. “The monsters left, I thought for sure they would take you-“

He stopped the instant he heard a groan coming from a cell. “Liam?! What-"

“Liam brought them to your kingdom,” Godric interrupted, and when he spoke, his tone was dangerously calm. “He was driven mad by the lust for power and must suffer for what he has done. Eric is gone. They have taken him.”

The King stood speechless and stared at Liam, now mumbling incoherently to himself. Philip was still in his nightgown, unharmed, without a scratch, as if he had slept through the battle. Godric expected the old man to stutter, to search for excuses in a proper language that confused him. He expected the king to accuse Godric of lying and perhaps even replace Liam’s body for his own in the decrepit cell. But what he did instead surprised Godric.

The King hesitated before laying his large hands on Godric’s tense shoulders and said, “My son, if he is alive…we need to bring him back.”

Godric’s expression softened. For the first time, he felt a surge of affection towards the man some called his father. It may have shown in his face, because the old man forced a sad, frightened smile meant to bring Godric out of his despair and give him hope.

Godric gave his king a slight nod. Philip wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders as if he needed support to stand. But the Vampire did not comment on it as they made their way out of the dungeon, closing the heavy door behind him and drowning out Liam’s screams.


	12. Chapter 12

Marius felt for the pulse of another human guard, though he knew from the wound to his neck that the man had been dead for hours. He sighed, closed the man's eyes, and placed two coins over the lids just before the king entered the hallway. 

"Ah, Philip," the wizard greeted him. He didn’t even look at the boy trailing behind him. "I see you are unharmed."

"Yes, thank the gods, Godric and I are both fine. We had to leave Liam in the dungeon. It turns out he was the one that led the vampires to us," the stoic King told his most trusted adviser. It was clear from his tone that the thought of his son committing treason and being sentenced to the bowels of the castle did not strike any real emotion from him. 

 

"I know, Philip," Marius said, as if it was obvious, wishing to remind the King of his unique power while still insisting he cannot change fate. "And Eric is missing. That is why you have come to me, yes? The boy wants to find his lover and you want to find your adopted son." 

Marius spoke plainly as if the fact that Eric and Godric were lovers was just town gossip. Philip froze in shock, but Godric froze in the fashion of an animal before it attacks. "Love... _lovers_? No, you can't be serious. Eric and Godric are brothers."

Marius stole a quick glance at Godric but otherwise carried on as if the boy weren't there at all. He turned around and began to stroll down the hall, his hands regally clasped behind his back as he stepped over two more lifeless bodies. He could hear the commotion of the people in the streets and the wailing of terrified children who had believed all this time that monsters only existed in the forest. It was only a matter of time before the people began to riot in demand for answers. "Not by blood. At least... not the way you and I think," Marius alluded. "Calm down, my King, does it really matter? After all, it is meant to be."

The king huffed as he followed behind Marius. "Of course it matters. You just told me I will never have grandchildren! And… and Eric is married to Lady Pamela!" 

"And you are married to the Queen, but you haven't exchanged so much as a 'good morning' since Liam was born," Marius pointed out to him bluntly. "And I believe you told Eric children didn't matter."

Philip knew that was true, but had only been trying not to put pressure on his son at the time. He knew Eric would grow to love and adore Pamela, and he knew through painful experience that children should be born only from love, no matter what tradition dictated.

Yet this was not the time to worry over his son’s strange love life. Perhaps when Eric was back, Philip could sit down and talk with them about it. But Godric without Eric was a loose cannon and the King feared for the worst.

"We have to find Eric, Marius, can you use your magic to help us?" 

"No, your highness," Marius told him. "Only your half-breed child can save the one who belongs to him."

Godric's eyes narrowed at Marius and finally found his voice. "How convenient for you,” he sneered, surprising the King even more. “Your magic always only seems to work when _you_ need it to." Godric didn't trust the wizard and he never would.

Marius looked sharply at Godric, surprised at his audacity. "And it seems the child only speaks when he wants to spit fire," he shot back. "I cannot explain how the magic works. I cannot control my gift. And I certainty cannot use is against your demonic relatives."

"I speak only when I need to,” Godric growled. “Unlike you, who speaks only to hear your own voice."

Marius ignored the taunt and replied with one of his own. "If you want to save your precious food, you must start thinking quickly. You are the only one who can get into that lion's den."

Godric’s fangs snapped into place loudly. "When this is over, you will regret bringing me to this castle,” he threatened. 

Philip gasped when he saw his son's fangs. He quickly moved between Marius and Godric to create some distance and a distraction. Godric could not be seen flashing his teeth around, especially now when it was more imperative than ever to keep Godric’s heritage a secret. "My good men! This is a waste of time! We need to get Eric back! There are riots in the streets, the people are terrified..." The King tried to conceal his own panic. "Godric... Son.... you are the only one who can enter the forest. We could send you as a sheep in wolf's clothing."

Godric hesitated, but he retracted his fangs. "As you wish.” 

King Philip heaved a sigh. "You must tell us how to kill them. You’ll have to lure them here again, everyone of them, and take Eric to safety and then we will slaughter them all," he told his son, though his shaky tone lacked confidence. "Can you do that?" 

It was Marius who answered first. "You are asking him to bring his own people, his _family_ , to slaughter. I suppose this will be interesting," he mused.

Godric’s eye twitched. "I cannot lead them here. They would never follow. But I can take you to them while they sleep."

It seemed a simple yet brilliant a plan. After all, a human could never know the secret nesting spots in the forest. The vampires could not be traced nor seen by humans when they didn’t wish it. But Godric knew and could navigate to Eric by scent. And what the vampires didn’t know was that he could walk in the sun. 

"During the day?" The King thought out loud. “How many soldiers do we need?"

"How many do you have?"

"A few hundred. We won't be needing that many, though, I assume? The vampires sleep during the day, they will be helpless..." Philip asked hopefully.

Godric knew where they would take Eric, and for the first time, he revealed vampire secrets to another human besides Eric. "They will be weaker in the day, yes. They sleep in caves below the mountain. I could sneak in and take Eric, but getting back out could be dangerous. That is why we need your armored human men." 

The King hung his head as he considered this. This would normally be the time he consulted with Marius but he had a feeling he already knew what his old friend would say. "Will I lose men?" he asked bluntly. "Will I lose you?"

Godric stared. He would never understand humans and their empathy. "It's a risk we have to take or Eric is dead."

King Philip gave Marius a quick glance as he placed his arm around Godric's small shoulders and led him into a vacant room and over to its broken window to overlook the castle grounds. "I can't lose you too, Godric. You are too important to this kingdom," he said, “Especially with Liam as the cause for this upcoming struggle.”

Godric shrugged off the King's arm, not comfortable with the touch. "I will survive and I will bring Eric home," he assured him, not unkindly.

Philip retracted his arm and suddenly felt very awkward. The boy still hesitant to think of him as his father, and Philip was not too proud to admit that it wounded him. Eric was his son, but not by blood. Liam had always been so close to his mother and therefore was born his enemy. But Godric was his heir. 

"I loved your mother, you know," Philip told him suddenly, still not looking at him but out the window instead. 

"She didn't love you. Vampires can't love." Godric knew this was untrue, but was not feeling charitable.

Philip turned his gaze onto his son's eyes and hesitated for a moment before asking, "What you feel for Eric is not love?"

That caught Godric off guard. For once, he stuttered for words. "Eric is mine. Love has nothing to do with it. Love is a human emotion." This too, was a lie. He’d said as much to Eric after they’d made love.

Philip was stunned once again and decided not to ask how Eric came to belong to Godric in his mind. He suspected Godric was lying and just being defensive. Although he’d never heard the words from Godric’s mother, he could see on Godric’s face how he felt about Eric. "Your mother did not love you, and you did not love her? Love is universal, Godric. Animals and beasts in the forest... I believe they feel something similar to it."

"Believe what you want," Godric said, fooling no one. "I need to leave. Every minute I spend here gives them another minute to drain Eric dry. Or worse."

Philip turned to Godric and nodded. "I'll get my men ready.”

*

That evening, the bloody hallways in the castle already felt haunted. Outside, the crude sounds of an army assembling was deafening. They needed to be ready for morning.

Marius quietly slipped away from his place at the King’s side and slinked with the ghosts through the shadows that led to the dungeon.

The dungeon was quiet except for the soft whimpers echoing from the farthest corner. The old wizard sat down on the wet ground directly in front of the cell. “Please,” the strained voice inside begged. Hours of screaming had driven the occupant mad. 

“Oh, my sweet boy,” Marius mocked. “It is already too late for you. The entire kingdom knows it was you who summoned the vampires. They think you are a snake and they want to see your weasely little head roll.” 

Liam simply stared into the darkness and felt the last sliver of his soul leave him. Marius cruelly allowed what he said to sink in before he spoke again. “You just weren’t meant to be king. It is not your birth right. I saw it, you know. Just as I foresaw this.” 

Liam began to shake his head in denial. Marius smiled and dipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve a small vial. “But I’m going to save you,” The wizard extended his hand with the vial in his palm and held it up, though he knew the prince could see nothing but darkness. “I’m going to give you a choice, and you are going to make the right decision. If you chose wrong, you will rot down here. They won’t kill you right away like a peasant. You are the son of the King. There would be a court hearing and judges and more violence would spread until finally you would be sentenced to lose your head after losing all your toes and fingers to blood-thirsty rats. You would stay here and the vampire boy-king would slowly torture you further into madness.” 

Liam twitched neurotically. 

“Or… you can make the right choice. Take this poison, die a painless death, and know that people will forget you and perhaps even your treachery.”

Instantly, Liam snatched the vial out of Marius’ palm, unstoppered it, and swallowed the bitter liquid. As he felt his heart force out its last slow beat, he was surprised that Marius hadn’t lied; death washing over him was painless, like water slipping through cupped hands.

Marius waited until Liam’s corpse was cold before he dusted himself off and left the dungeon. He would first personally inform the queen of Liam’s death and watch her fall into delicate pieces on the floor. There was murder enough in those words that poison would not be needed. 

Liam had to die for more reasons than he had to live. After all, Marius knew Liam could expose Godric as the beast he was to the entire kingdom of Rowan. The result would be civil war. Marius also knew that one of the first acts Liam would enact as king would be to banish the wizard from the castle. Now that Liam was cold and soon to be in the ground, the only rightful heir was Godric. Godric, who would rule with his own bastard brother beside him. And with Eric in the castle, despite how the vampire felt about wizards, Marius was sure to have a royal seat behind the king. 

Yes, everything he’d set in motion had been part of his plan all along. 

*

Godric maneuvered silently through the vampire’s caves. All those early mornings spent sneaking around the forest while the others were asleep had paid off. The forest was beautiful under the sun, but it still burned too bright and made his skin crawl. 

The forest was so full of delicious life that Godric almost grew distracted, but his fangs retracted the moment he smelled Eric’s blood and he moved with the ease of a cat. He could tell that his lover was beaten and bloody but fortunately all alone in one of the smaller caves. 

Eric felt the icy hand of a vampire over his mouth and was pulled abruptly back to consciousness, though once he remembered where he was, he wished again for the sweet escape of death. He hated himself for the feeling; he was a warrior, and here he was... defeated and bleeding and pleading for the end. But he knew these monsters were going to keep him alive, if just barely. His blood was too valuable and he was no good to them dead. They would feast on him until he was nothing but the shell of a body lying pale in the dirt, helpless to fight back. 

And yet when he opened his eyes, he found the very angel of death above him. "You... You're not real," he smiled deliriously, but the angel's hand muffled his speech. 

Godric forced a smile and removed his hand to kiss Eric gently. "I'm here to rescue you, my Knight."

Eric used what little effort he had left to shake his head. Out of all the hallucinations, this one was the worst. "I'm dying..." he told the beautiful boy.

"No, you’re not," Godric said, and wasted no time before he bit into his own wrist and held it to Eric's mouth.

Eric smelled the blood and panicked, turning his head and using strength he didn't know he had to push the vision away. What kind of awful trick was this? He felt his sanity dissolving away.

"Eric, you must drink so that you can heal quickly," Godric whispered in a firm tone.

The sound of Godric's voice soothed him, even if it was his imagination. Eric tried to focus his eyes on the apparition above him. "Godric...." he whispered, his voice cracked from screaming. He lifted Godric’s shaking hand to his face.

"You have to drink my blood and we have to get out of here," Godric said again. His wrist had healed and he decided to take a different approach. Without blinking an eye, he bit down on his tongue and kissed Eric deeply.

The soft intimacy of the kiss was shocking against the pain, but the second he felt the rich blood on his tongue, Eric whimpered and took all the boy had to offer. Godric gave him just enough to begin the healing before pulling away. "Now, we have to leave, and we have to do it quietly."

The blood was suddenly ripped away from Eric faster than it had come, and suddenly he couldn't cope with the loss. He wanted to live he realized then. And he was going to live... As long as he got more of that blood. Living with animals had made him an animal, and still quite delirious, he thrust himself at Godric and latched onto his wrist savagely, tearing it open anew.

The sudden digging of Eric's teeth into his wrist startled Godric enough that he yelped and cursed under his breath. He wrenched his arm out of Eric's grasp, and with a growl, he smacked his lover hard across the face, hoping to bring him back to reality. 

Eric was stunned, so much so, that he fell back onto the ground and felt his world dissolve around him. He felt his teeth stinging and eyes watering now that his body had some moisture back. 

He fell into shock, staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling of the cave.

Godric growled again and grabbed Eric by the shirt, forcing Eric to stand. He would drag Eric out of the cave if that was what it took. They were running out of time and the vampires were beginning to stir, either from Godric's yelp or the smell of his blood.

Eric was startled when he was hoisted to his feet with little effort from Godric whom he could see more clearly now. He forced his legs to support his own weight and was surprised to find that he actually could stand. Yet he still leaned heavily on Godric, knowing his life was now in the boys’ hands.

Godric placed one arm firmly around Eric's waist and led him out of the labyrinth of caves towards the light of day. The brightness of the sun nearly blinded Eric; his eyes had grown so accustomed to the darkness. It was too much and he passed out again almost immediately. The white light washing over him felt like death. But before losing consciousness, he spared a thought for Godric, for whom he knew the sun made even more uncomfortable. 

*

Eric woke hours later, not knowing where he was and having no recollection his journey. He shot up in bed, hyperventilating in his panic, his body suddenly buzzing with energy.

Godric was at his side in an instant. "It's all right," he whispered gently.

Eric was still panting hard when Godric appeared like magic beside him on the bed. "What happened?" Eric asked. Surely he hadn't just snuck Eric out of the forest. That would bring war.

"The vampires woke and followed us out... King Philip’s men were waiting for them. The sun got most of them first. They were defeated, they are gone."

Eric turned his gaze towards Godric and tried to focus his eyes. He still felt so weak, so helplessly human. "They're dead?" Eric asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, they can't hurt you anymore,” Godric told him awkwardly. 

Normally, Eric would have wanted to see the truth for himself, but he knew it was done from the sincerity in Godric’s eyes. "Do you know what those monsters did?" Eric asked suddenly through clenched teeth.

"I can imagine they fed from you over and over again until you lost consciousness." Godric spoke in a monotone voice.

Eric sat up and looked around. With his mind's sudden clarity came another realization. He was still surrounded by enemies. "Where is he?" he demanded, "Where is Marius?!"

Godric was caught off-guard by the demand and awkwardly tried to extend a hand to touch Eric’s forehead. He had seen the healers in the castle do this to patients with fevers, though he could feel nothing against his own cold hand. "How should I know where the old man is? Calm yourself, you need to rest." 

Eric shook his head and suddenly focused on Godric. There was an odd sense of worry in the vampire’s expression that Eric had never seen before. "It wasn't vampires, Godric. It wasn't vampires who murdered my family. It was _him_ ," Eric whispered harshly.

"You've been through so much, Eric," Godric told him, but did not elaborate. 

"No. I'm not in shock. Not anymore. Do you not believe me?" Eric insisted, because of anyone, he thought Godric would believe him.

"What proof do you have? You were very convinced it was vampires," Godric said a little bitterly. 

"And what reason do you have not to believe me?" Eric shot back. It hurt him to speak to Godric like this, but he was angry and didn't have the patience to explain.

"I just think you have been through a lot.” Godric considered. “What would the old man gain by killing your parents?" 

"To set in motion this chain of events…that ends with you ruling Rowan with me at your side. Without my parent's murder, the King would never have found me and taken me in. I would never have come to live in the castle and never have met you," Eric growled. "I'm not crazy, Godric! I haven't lost my mind! My strength and my dignity as a knight, perhaps, but _I'm not mad_!"

"I don't think you're mad,” Godric told him if only to ease Eric’s nerves. 

"Then do you believe me now?" Eric demanded. He couldn't help but feel betrayed, even though he knew he would have a hard time believing it himself if the tables were turned. But he had seen the truth as clear as day as his blood was being drained out of his body in those caves. "He must have placed a spell over me as a child. Made me see things differently," Eric mumbled angrily. “It broke when the vampires drained me almost to death.”

Godric climbed into bed beside Eric. His movements were almost childlike as he inched closer and kneeled before the human. "And so you want vengeance. But I don't want you to do something you may regret later." 

Eric immediately sat up to press his forehead against Godric’s, the first contact with the vampire he had initiated since waking. "My love," he whispered. "You could do it – kill him. I know you want to. I cannot kill the man who raised me, even if my entire life was a lie because of him."

Godric’s fangs betrayed him by elongating at Eric's provoking words. But there had already been so much death. There was so much blood on his hands already. His tribe had been slaughtered, burnt in the sun, and he had watched the sheer surprise in their eyes before they had fallen to ashes. 

But he loved Eric above all else. "I will bring you his head,” Godric agreed.

Eric did not flinch at the sight of Godric’s fangs, but instead thrilled from it and immediately surged forward to plant his lips firmly upon Godric’s. The pleasure of it was shocking to Eric’s body, which recently had endured so much pain.

Godric forced the kiss to turn gentle before he pulled away completely. "I’d thought I lost you," he whispered and his own words surprised him.

Eric did not allow Godric to retreat too far and pressed their mouths together again. "You didn't lose me. I knew you would find me," Eric whispered. "That’s why I had to live, had to stay strong. For you."

Godric smiled, because he knew Eric hadn’t held the power of life and death in that cave. Then he looked thoughtful. "You've been a slave to monsters and yet you don't fear me?" He was one of them, after all.

Eric considered his words for a moment before shaking his head. "You're not like them. You are mine and I am yours and you would never hurt me." It sounded a simplistic response, but Eric had no other words to explain. He kissed Godric again soundly.

"You must rest," Godric repeated, pushing Eric down onto the bed.

"I have done enough resting," Eric argued, wondering why his lover was so distant. "Enough for a lifetime. What is wrong with you?"

Godric shifted uncomfortably before speaking, choosing his words carefully. "I was… worried. It is not a familiar feeling for me."

Eric seemed to understand. "Is that so awful? To sometimes feel human?"

"I don't know. I am still learning."

Eric nuzzled his lover and planted another kiss on Godric’s full, red lips. "Please lay with me," he whispered.

Godric gave him a strange look. "Aren't you tired?"

"Yes," Eric admitted, but he kissed Godric again a little deeper.

Godric allowed the kiss to deepen. Eric did not fear anything when he felt the vampire’s unbelievable strength push against him, and he moaned with satisfaction and surrendered to him. 

"I want to be with you forever," Eric whispered when he broke the kiss, because unlike his lover, he still had to breathe.

Godric grinned down at him. "Good, because I will live a long time," he responded playfully.

"I want to live that long with you," Eric told him, hoping Godric would understand exactly he wanted so badly. Eric did not want to have to say it outright. He leaned up just far enough to kiss his lover's neck.

"Don't, Eric," Godric warned and went tense in his arms. 

But Eric didn’t stop. "I don't want to ever feel that way again. I don't want to die a mortal death, I want to live. It is my purpose to be immortal like you... with you..." Eric burst out, suddenly unable to stop speaking once he began. "Please, you cannot deny me."

Godric pulled away from him, his fangs throbbing and grey eyes glazed over. "I would have to kill you to do it... I would have to hear your heart beat for the last time," he said, placing his palm over Eric's chest. "I am not ready for that."

"I don't care what you are ready for, Godric," Eric snarled, but kissed him tenderly before speaking again. "I don't ever want to be at the mercy of another again, except for you. I do not want to die. We both know I was not meant to grow old."

Godric frowned and did not kiss him back. "I can protect you and now the vampires aren't a threat to you. You have many years ahead to look forward to. I don't want to kill you."

Eric shook his head then pressed his forehead against Godric's, feeling Godric’s icy body cooling his own fever. "You won't be killing me. We can leave this place. We can be free," he whispered, knowing it was what his lover wanted.

"You would leave the only father you know and all your human friends? You would leave your new wife?" Godric questioned.

"None of it would matter anymore, not once I was yours." Eric caressed Godric’s face with his fingertips. "Their lives will continue without me."

"Maybe I want this life now," Godric argued.

"You don't. What would you do on that throne, Godric? Sip wine and oversea peasant laws? You cannot. They would soon see that their boy king does not age and become suspicious. They would find out what you are, Godric, I'm amazed they haven't already!" Eric insisted. “My love, you will be taken from me."

Godric shook his head and glared at his lover. "We still have a few more years yet, and I would like the chance to know my father." 

Eric balled his fists in frustration. " _A few years_ is nothing to you. Will you forget me then, after I am gone?" he accused suddenly, jealous over his father and Godric's new bond.

"No, of course not, Eric!" Godric hissed. 

"If you truly loved me, you would make me like you. I know it can be done," Eric accused. "Please, you have come to be everything to me and I cannot go on without you."

"If you loved me, you would ask me to kill you!" Godric protested. 

Eric could not help but soften at the rough tone of the vampire’s voice. "You are killing me, Godric, by not making me a living god like you," he whispered.

"I've never turned anyone before, Eric. I am a half-breed. It might not work." There was something dangerous in Godric’s tone that told Eric the vampire’s patience with the subject was at an end. 

Eric sighed and lay back down. "I'd like you close to me," he changed the subject rapidly, because he, too, was weary of arguing and he refused to admit that perhaps Godric had a point.

"I'm right here," Godric affirmed. 

Eric was slowly tiring of pushing Godric when he knew he would get nothing in return. "Are you mourning your people?" he asked to the ceiling.

"I don't think vampires can mourn," Godric answered all too quickly. "And even if I could, I would not mourn them because they hurt you."

"You are more human than you think you are," Eric told him.

"I am yours and you are mine. That is all I need to know."

Eric, having nothing else to say, slammed his lips hard against Godric's and his hands hungrily grabbed Godric’s hips. He pressed his chest against the vampire, feeling the echo of his own heart through the hollowness of the other. "You are beautiful," he whispered between kisses. "My dark god."

"The things you say," Godric smiled into the kiss.

"They're all true," Eric insisted as his hands began to wander over Godric's body, roughly feeling every inch of skin as if it belonged to him.

"Eric, you really should rest," Godric stopped him. 

Eric sighed and drew the fur covers around him when he shivered. "Do you think there are others like you? Other vampires who aren't cruel monsters?" he suddenly asked.

"I am a cruel monster." Godric said.

"Shut up," Eric cursed back at him. "You know exactly what I mean. Are they all like those others?"

"Stop asking idiotic questions." 

Eric wanted to keep questioning Godric, but he knew he would only get vague responses and he was exhausted. He closed his eyes and relaxed. "I'm going to rest," he agreed.

"All right. I’ll be here when you wake," Godric promised, smoothing his fingers through Eric’s long, blond hair.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much thanks to our beta, Nurse Darry, for her amazing beta skills and her everlasting patience!

Eric woke a few hours later and shot up in bed, his body wet with cold sweat and his head reeling. He couldn’t remember the nightmare, but it still left him with an unsettling sense of dread. He focused on catching his breath and turned his head to find Godric staring intently at him. He started again, not having sensed the vampire's presence. 

"You frightened me," Eric confessed, embarrassed. 

"I apologize," Godric said softly, and reached out to gently stroke Eric's face in apology. 

Eric closed his eyes and sighed into the touch, kissing the palm of his lover's hand and feeling the heat radiating off of him. Godric felt radiant and well nourished. "You have fed," he commented.

"Yes," Godric said plainly. "I took care of our problem."

"Marius is dead?" Eric asked knowingly. He felt oddly unemotional about it. Marius had already been dead to him. "I hope you killed him slowly.”

"I didn't have the time. I wanted to be back before you woke," Godric easily lied. 

The truth was that Godric did prolong his suffering. He had tortured the old man, his blackened magic weak and useless against the vampire. In the end, Marius had begged for death with one boney, white outstretched hand to the heavens, to which Godric only laughed. If there was such a thing as a human afterlife, it wasn’t to the pleasant blue sky that Marius’s soul was headed but to the bowels of Hell. Only when Godric’s fangs were throbbing for his blood did he finally grant Marius release. 

“Did you see this in your visions?!” Godric had hissed at him, but the old man died with his secrets. When Godric finally tore into his throat, he could find no answers in the rivers of his blood. 

Godric had become ill from the strength of the old wizard’s magic that seemed to add a bitter and unappealing taste. It was tainted, like dead blood. Unable to stomach it, Godric’s body rejected it, and he quickly found nourishment in the first servant he ran across in the hallway. The whole murder was a messy, frustrating affair that left Godric feeling empty. Finally, he laid his body to rest in the swamps on the edge of the forest where he also bathed the carnage from his skin. 

After it was done, Godric wasn’t sure who was more the monster. 

"The king... does he know?" Eric dared to ask. The castle was strangely quiet, like he and Godric were the only two souls left alive. The thought didn’t frighten him as perhaps it should. 

"No one will ever know," was all Godric told him. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Eric asked, but then shook his head and realized that it didn’t matter. "Nevermind, I don’t care," he decided with a wave of his hand.

"How do you feel?" Godric asked as he shifted closer to his human lover. 

"Awful," Eric admitted with a sigh.

"Do you need more blood?" Godric offered. 

"I always need more of your blood," Eric answered right away and perked up. His eyes were already glazed over with desire. He still felt weak and Godric’s blood would make him strong. He could be himself again. He could forget. 

"Just a little,” Godric warned, but made no move yet to offer a wrist. “I don't want you to get sick, and you have already had a fair amount."

"It won't make me ill... It will only make me better," Eric insisted, and reached out for Godric impatiently. 

Godric ignored his lover’s reach and used a fingernail to slowly make an incision along his throat. Eric watched closely as the blood flowed to the surface, testing himself to see how long he could last before he lunged for it. 

A few seconds was all he could bear before he latched onto Godric’s neck, feeling the warm blood flow down his throat and losing himself in its depths. Eric’s hands grew restless as they grabbed for his lover’s smaller body, wanting to bring him to life. Godric responded immediately with a moan, his fangs sharp in his mouth, and sank down on the furs next to his human.

Eric drank greedily, feeling his own veins erupt pleasantly in fire, and knowing it would never be enough. He bit down on the wound with his dull human teeth, and in frustration, suddenly threw Godric onto his back. He thrust his hips down in a desperate attempt to satisfy another physical need.

Using all of his strength, Godric jerked Eric away from his neck to allow the wound to heal. His eyes were wild and feral and dangerous when they looked into Eric’s. "You've had enough, greedy boy," he chastised with a heavy growl. 

Eric licked his own blood-stained lips because every drop seemed to send him further and further into bliss. Something so sacred couldn’t be wasted. "I'll never have enough of you," Eric said right before his world exploded in a beautiful burst of color. 

When Eric opened his eyes again, they were both bathing in the warm sun with the sound of birds and the distant sound of a water stream around them. They were both lying splendidly naked in tall, green grass. He looked around himself in amazement, reaching out to touch the tangible hallucinations and fully aware of the pulsing need between his legs.

Godric pushed Eric gently off of him and eased him onto his back. "Eric. Are you all right?" 

Eric was pliant when Godric moved him, wanting to feel his lover’s pleasant weight back on top of him. He reached up to play with the vampire’s dark, tangled hair, still stained with dirt and mud from the forest. He smelled of Earth and blood and dark arousal. Eric watched in awe as the sun shone through the strands of his hair and saw for the first time how unbelievably grey and beautifully shaped his eyes were. 

"I've never been more all right in my life," Eric admitted with a laugh. Somewhere, deep down in the sane part of him, Eric knew this realm wasn’t real. At least, it did not exist the same way other things existed... But it was as real to him as anything else had ever been, and he did not fight it. "God, your blood..." he whispered, not knowing how to explain it. "I think I'm in paradise."

Godric stared at Eric strangely for a moment before finally his lips curled into a sly smile and he leaned down to kiss a bruise onto his lover’s soft neck. The word mine went unspoken, but instead hung in the air like a dark and beautiful storm cloud.

Godric's lips were warm when they moved against Eric’s pulse and Eric’s clawing hands moved over the boy’s body as if he were unlocking the secrets of heaven itself through the inked designs on his skin. "Do you not see it? Take some blood back, I can take it, I want you to see it..." he whispered. Eric knew he didn't have to speak softly; they were the only beings that existed, there was no one else. It was them and the sun and the divine earth beneath them. 

"It doesn't work like that. I won't see the things you do," Godric explained a little sadly as he began easing Eric out of his clothes. 

Eric grinned up at Godric and made it difficult for the other to disrobe him as he was already rocking his hips urgently against him. "I want to see you smile, little demon," he tried, and kissed those lips, hoping to coax glee out of him.

"Do I not smile for you enough, my knight?" Godric laughed warmly against him, finally slipping the last of Eric’s clothing away as he began to rid himself of his own stifling robes. When at last Godric felt the exciting shivers through his own body as his naked flesh touched Eric’s, he leaned over and whispered, "I want to be inside you."

Eric exhaled when he heard him and he knew he would deny him nothing. "I'm yours," he whispered back and drew him into a messy, heavy kiss.

Godric grinned, giving his lover that requested smile, and pulled back to dip his fingers in some oil from a nearby lamp. His fangs glistened in the sun. "Turn around, on you stomach," he demanded with another kiss.

In any other setting, Eric would never have surrendered so perfectly. In all his years of bedding men, he never once rolled over for one and he never thought he would. Yet with Godric, none of it mattered. Eric grinned back against the kiss, blinded with the bliss around them, and rolled over obediently. His hands threaded with the lush grass, cool against his fingers.

Godric kissed along Eric's spine as his finger teased his entrance. "You are so beautiful and you are all mine," he told him.

Eric arched into him, his eyes closed against the damp ground as he felt Godric's finger down his spine and then inside of him. Those fingers could break him with a quick snap of his wrist and the very thought sent a pleasurable shiver through his body. 

"You have to relax and let me in," Godric told him gently, though his voice still sounded strained and dark with desire. 

Eric took a breath and relaxed around his lover, surprised at how good it felt. "I am yours," he whispered back to him.

"Yes, you are," Godric growled, biting down on Eric's shoulder as he slipped another finger past the tight ring of muscles inside him.

Eric welcomed the next finger easily, the sharp bite to his shoulder opening him up. "Take my blood," he whispered, wanting to watch and feel Godric losing control.

"I'll bite you as you come," Godric promised him before he abruptly pulled his fingers out. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Eric felt his cock twitch with impatience at the thought of that bite. "Always ready," he breathed heavily, feeling the blunt end of Godric’s cock now against that sensitive part of him. He wanted so badly to see his face, to watch the pleasure soften Godric’s features, but he knew he wasn't in charge here.

Godric pushed slowly into his lover, enjoying the feel of his tightness surrounding him. He moaned when he could finally go no further and felt his human lover adjust to him. Eric gasped with the sudden, unexpected pain that swiftly dissolved to pleasure and grabbed fistfuls of the cool grass beneath him.

"You feel so good," Godric encouraged as he thrust gently.

"Gods, yes," Eric panted underneath him, lifting his trembling hips to take more of his lover inside. Godric ran his fang’s pointed edges along Eric's neck teasingly as his thrusts became even more demanding.

Eric moaned loudly and thrust back against Godric. "I want to see you," he pleaded.

With that, Godric quickly pulled out and flipped Eric around onto his back as if he weighed nothing, and before Eric’s eyes could adjust to that blinding sun, Godric thrust back into his wanting body.

Eric cried out, the light a halo around the vampire’s head, and he lifted his lips to kiss him harshly. Godric kissed back, his fangs teasing the giving flesh of his lover’s tongue as his hand reached in between them for Eric's cock.

Eric moaned when he felt Godric's hand where he needed it the most. He felt Godric position his thrusts against his prostate and when he closed his eyes Eric saw the stars of night against his eyelids. "Too much," he tried to tell his lover. He didn't want it to end so soon.

Godric suddenly stopped and tensed, pausing inside him and searching Eric’s face for pain. He looked so much like a child who was worried he had broken his favorite toy and Eric laughed at the thought. It only confused Godric further.

"God, don't stop," Eric immediately insisted, thrusting back against Godric. "I meant I’m close."

Reassured, Godric bit and tugged gently on Eric’s moist bottom lip. "I'm not stopping,” he threatened.

Eric laughed again and raised his head to kiss Godric deeply, teasing his tongue against his fangs and feeling Godric’s cock pulse inside of him. "You feel good," he admitted into his mouth. 

Godric stopped being gentle and his thrusts grew harder. Eric felt his cock strike his prostate again and felt his own peak rising. "Fuck, Godric, I can't-" he cursed.

"Yes you can," Godric hissed, the tremble in his voice echoing through Eric’s body. "You are going to come."

Eric did not even hear Godric finish his sentence before he felt the violent rush of ecstasy shoot through him, the sun blinding his eyes and his lover unspeakably perfect and beautiful and pale above him and inside of him. He came so hard that when he opened his mouth to scream, nothing came out, and he collapsed underneath Godric.

Godric didn't allow himself to come until Eric clenched around him. He groaned out his release, still thrusting into Eric through the aftershocks of his orgasm. Godric felt his arms give and he landed hard on Eric's chest and didn't bother to move.

Eric panted hard but felt Godric's chest completely still. "Liar," he barked suddenly. "You promised to...oh gods...to bite me," he provoked.

Godric chuckled, his face hidden in Eric's neck. 

"You promised," Eric said pitifully.

"For a human, you sure do like to be bitten," Godric teased as he nuzzled his neck. "Do you enjoy wearing my mark?" 

"You know I do," Eric growled viciously underneath him.

"If I turned you, you wouldn't bruise," Godric pointed out randomly.

"I want you to turn me. Promise me,” Eric asked again. He wasn’t sure if he had said it aloud until he heard Godric respond, "When the time is right, I will turn you.”

Eric was so shocked that for a moment that he momentarily stopped breathing. He looked up at his lover then as if searching for something in his eyes. "You can't go back on it now. Promise me."

Godric kissed him gently. "I promise, but it will be on my terms. Do not ask me again." 

Eric kissed him deeply, tasting his honesty. "If I ask you again, will you take it back?" he teased childishly.

"Don't try my patience, Eric.”. 

Eric kissed that dangerous growl bravely. "I will be yours, then," he told him. “On your own terms.”

***

A month passed. A month was nothing to a vampire and was beginning to feel like nothing to Eric. Time was beginning to lose all meaning to him. The wine was beginning to lose its taste. His appetite withered. 

The village had once again settled and returned to the way it had always been. The people were satisfied that Liam, who they’d believed to be the cause of the attack from the monsters of the forest, was dead. Marius' disappearance hadn't gone unnoticed, yet few questioned it. Once it was unearthed that, he too, had brought upon the vampires, there was no one to miss him, not even Philip.

Yet the king began to cough. At first, he insisted it was nothing, but Eric knew the second he saw his father stuff a bloody handkerchief into his pocket that he was dying. The sickness progressed quickly like a plague, and overnight, the king developed the fever that would end him. 

Eric rushed into the garden where he knew Godric would be reading a book alone by moonlight. He ran as fast as he could on human legs over to him, dropped to his knees, and panted harshly before he got his breath back enough to speak. "Please, you must save him," he begged.

Godric looked up, startled. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Eric pressed his sweating forehead against Godric's clothed chest, interrupting his reading. "You don't know? You cannot smell his death from here? How can you not know!?" he cried.  
Godric's hand cupped the back of Eric's neck. "Calm down and tell me."

Eric began to sob into Godric's tunic. His arms wrapped around him tightly. "The king," he whispered, letting lose of his emotions with only his lover, the darkness, and the garden around them. “He is sick and dying.”

"He is human and he is old. Old humans die," Godric tried to say.

Eric didn't want to hear that. He clung to Godric tighter, practically knocking the book out of his lap. "It isn't right. It isn't meant to be like this, he is suffering," Eric insisted.  
Godric was quiet for a moment before he said, "Then maybe we should end his suffering."

Eric looked up into Godric's grey eyes then and saw his frame illuminated by the moon in an unearthly way. "Yes, your blood can heal him. I know it can... You've done it for me."  
Godric shook his head when Eric did not understand. "It won't heal him if he is as far gone as you say. I meant that only death will end his suffering."

Eric's wet eyes narrowed up at Godric; "No... I was too far gone, also. I was so close to death that I could taste it...and your blood saved me." He shook his head in denial.

"You are young and can recover quickly," Godric explained stoically. 

Eric shook his head again, too stubborn to admit the truth in Godric's words. "You have to do something…or is it that you don't want to save him?" he suddenly accused.

"He's old, Eric. I don't know if I can even turn you."

"I don't want you to turn him! I just want you to give him some of your blood to heal him!" Eric shouted. "Please... He's our father," he added softly.

"It won't work, Eric. Don't you think that if I could do this for you, I would?"

Eric's shoulders sank with the release of all hope. "He's the only family I've ever had. He saved me from certain death. And I cannot even do the same for him." He closed his eyes.

"Humans die. Everything has their end," Godric told him.

Eric dropped his forehead into Godric's lap, seeking comfort from the cold statue that had none to give. "He wasn't meant to die like this."

"Yes he was. He has lived a lot longer than most humans."

Eric looked up into his lover's eyes again, feeling weak under Godric's immense strength. "Is that what you will do to me one day, when I'm old and dying? Put me down?" he asked, though there was no anger in his tone. He needed to know Godric was going to keep his promise.

Godric looked down at Eric and formed a sad smile. "You have to know I can't allow that to happen now. You are under my skin... I will have to kill you one day but if it means keeping you for all eternity, then so be it."

Eric exhaled loudly, satisfied with that answer. "Go talk to him. He was asking for you earlier. The fever is making him delirious," he whispered, knowing what he was asking Godric.

"All right... Do you want to come with me?" Godric asked awkwardly.

"I've already said goodbye. He wants to see you alone..." Eric trailed off. This was a terrible death for a king. The sickness was a silent criminal, one Eric could not kill with a sword. There would be no vengeance on his father's death. He was simply going to slip away into sleep, never to rise again. Eric's heart ached at the thought. "Please, go," he said to the ground.

Godric wasn't going to give himself over to human sentiment, but Eric kept insisting. He stood up and sighed. "I will not be long."

***

The guards barely glanced at Godric as if they had been expecting him. They parted the doors to the king’s chambers, where he rested amongst furs. Philip’s coughing filled the room and it reeked of sick and clotted blood. Yet when Philip saw him, he brightened up as if he were using the very last of his strength to smile upon an angel.

"Ah, Godric. My son," he greeted him. "I thought you might not come."  
"I didn't want to," Godric said stubbornly as he sat down on a chair beside the bed. He was tense and awkward and immediately didn’t know what to say. "Eric insisted that I do."

"I don't blame you. It was a terrible thing, bringing you here in chains. It was never really my idea. But Marius was right about one thing, the old bastard..." Philip was interrupted by a cough. "You will take care of Eric, yes? He needs you, even if he will never admit it. You two are destined for great things together."

"I will guard him with my life," Godric promised easily, because he hoped it was one promise he could keep. "Your kingdom... I don't want it, I never did."

"I know, my son. I never wanted it either, nor was I ready for it when my father died. But you are my one and only true heir. The people will expect it. But I know you would make a terrible king, little imp that you are." He laughed to himself hoarsely, but there was nothing but affection in his tone.

Something twitched in Godric’s unreadable expression. "Can't you just leave the throne to Eric?" he asked impatiently.

Philip smiled. "Is that what you want? To leave Eric? Because you will leave. I know you will, and you should."

Godric looked sharply at the King. "And why would I leave him?"

"You should leave together when you feel it is time," Philip answered. "You have so much time."

Godric was silent for a moment as he considered his father’s words. His expression softened. "We will… And I will make sure he is happy."

Philip smiled sadly as if he had just found peace in his reflection in Godric’s eyes. He coughed harshly and took a shallow breath. "You are so much like her. Your mother. She never believed me when I told her I loved her, either."

Godric was quiet again as he thought of that. "She was very stubborn. I… I wish she had told me about you," he admitted, and immediately looked down at his clasped hands.

"She loved you too much to put you in danger. That's why she left. She knew this wasn’t where you belonged," Philip said. "I couldn't protect her. Just like I can't protect you. They mustn't know of your gift."

"I know, Father," Godric said, calling him 'father' for the first time. "No one will ever know. I will be fine."

Philip’s smile then was full of pain. "You know that I'm dying. I don't have much time left. And what time I do have left will be spent in complete suffering agony," he told him. "I want you to end it. I don't want Eric to see me like this any longer. It is crushing the poor boy."

Godric looked up in surprise yet again. "I... I told Eric I could do that, but now I'm not sure how I feel about it. Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked delicately. 

Philip chuckled dryly. "My dear child, I have nothing left. I am wasting away too slowly for my taste. And though I may not have died gallantly in battle, I still lived long and I have loved."

Godric stared at his father’s withering body and felt his fangs snap crudely into place. This hesitation was strange to him. "If it is what you wish,” he nodded. “I am sorry we never received the chance to know each other."

Philip did not even flinch or bat an eye at the sight of hungry teeth. "Perhaps in another life, my boy. Now please, give me peace and then comfort your blubbering prince," he teased.

***

Eric knew it was done. He could almost feel it in his gut. And when he saw Godric walk silently out of the corner of his eye to sit beside him in the garden, flush with warmth and health, he didn't startle. "It's a beautiful night," he said up to the stars.

Godric reached out and took Eric's hand in his, a human gesture he was quite fond of. "Yes it is, but not nearly as beautiful as you."

A slow smile formed on Eric's lips. Godric's hand was warm in his. "Why, my prince, you have learned how to sweet-talk," he teased lightly. "Or should I say...my King?"

"I don't think I will get used to that title... But I can't wait to hear you calling me that while you’re in bed with me," Godric admitted.

Eric grinned. "You will make a terrible king," he taunted, if only to distract himself from the fact that they did have a real, serious issue at hand. "You don't know the first thing about it."

"You're right. But that is why I have you, is it not?" Godric raised a dark eyebrow.

Eric shook his head. "The entire royal family is dead. The last living is a feral vampire boy. And the kingdom doesn't even know it," he laughed.

"I could just give you the crown,” Godric shrugged.

Eric rolled his eyes. "I don’t have time to teach you politics tonight, but you cannot, Godric. Being king is not a choice. And the people of Rowan know you are strange."  
"I thought I was doing better."

"You aren’t," Eric teased, and Godric pouted dramatically. Eric smiled despite himself. "I guess we are in for an adventure, then. After we both go to bed and I fall asleep in your arms."  
Godric pulled Eric close. "You can sleep after I make love to you."

Eric smirked and breathed Godric's scent in through his nose, more intoxicating than the roses sleeping around them. "Right here in the gardens?"

"Tempting," Godric said with a growl.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the readers who saw this story true until the end, even if it took so long to finish it. A very special thanks to Nurse_Darry, who is this story's wonderful beta.

"Well you're in charge now, my King," Eric smirked dangerously, wanting to see for himself what calling Godric by his new title did to him. Just as expected, it earned Eric a smile. 

They both stood in the gardens, the moon casting their shadows. Philip was dead and there was no bringing him back. Tomorrow, the entire kingdom would mourn, and crown Godric as their new leader. But Eric knew they still belonged to each other for one more night.

"I have always been in charge," the profoundly under-qualified heir to Rowan said in a serious tone.

"Oh?" Eric challenged. He took a step forward until his chest almost touched his lover’s and loomed over him with his superior height. "Maybe just for that, tonight I'll have you on your stomach.”

"I'm stronger than you. I could have you if I wanted to," Godric reminded him as he ran nimble fingers up Eric's chest, taking the upper hand yet again. 

Eric couldn't hold back a low growl at the thought of Godric using all of his strength to overpower him. "Let's go to bed," he demanded, and turned to walk back towards the castle without waiting for Godric to agree. 

Godric grinned and followed, holding out his hands against the flowers childishly as he walked by them, but still feeling the hunger of a predator. He wanted to rid Eric’s heart of pain and worry and fear. He thirsted to drink away his sadness. He wanted to share in Eric’s humility and understand his human nature. 

As soon as they reached Eric's chambers, Godric kicked closed the heavy door and pushed him into the room and towards the bed. But Eric didn't want to surrender that easily. He wanted to push Godric back. He wanted it to be a fight for dominance even if the winner had already won. 

The knight grabbed Godric and shoved his back hard against the mattress, kissing him passionately and pressing hips against hips. Godric moaned, decided to play along, and pulled off Eric's clothes. "Are you going to bite me, your highness?" Eric teased breathlessly with a thrust of his erection against Godric's, even as the vampire was attempting to untie his trousers. 

"Maybe after I fuck you.”

"You think you get to fuck me?" Eric liked that he was Godric's favorite and the only soul in the world able to claim that title. His hands slid underneath Godric to grasp his ass tightly in his palms.

Godric looked up at his lover with an eerily child-like expression. "If you will let me."

Eric laughed. When did Godric get so damn polite in bed? His laughter still hanging in the air above them, he untangled himself from Godric’s clinging limbs in order to take off his trousers as seductively as possible. "You know I'd let you do anything."

Godric growled and pounced, reminding Eric of a large cat, and pushed him back onto the bed to quickly straddle his hips. 

Eric couldn't lay still for long after that. Almost as soon as he felt Godric's pleasant weight on his erection, he sat up to slowly lick up the vampire’s neck. When he felt a raised artery against his tongue, he bit down on it as if his flimsy human teeth could draw blood.

He felt, rather than saw or heard Godric’s response as an electric wave of pleasure in the pit of his stomach when teeth met flesh. It was a raw, powerful, quick burst of satisfaction that tingled through Eric like radiation. "None of that," Godric chastised and stripped off the rest of their clothes.

But Eric wanted and needed to feel it again. "When you make me what you are, will you let me suck on that little vein?" he asked, lying on his back and watching through dazed eyes as Godric stripped to reveal his body. 

"Don't talk about that," Godric stopped.

Eric frowned. Whether he would admit it or not, upsetting Godric was never something he never intended. "Why not? It's our future together," he asked, his hand sliding down his lover's tattooed chest.

Eric’s gaze fixed on the peaks of Godric’s small fangs in his parted mouth as if they were angry, too. "I do not want to kill you and that is what I am to do to have you forever," Godric tried to tell him patiently.

Eric almost shrank under his lover’s voice. His shoulders slumped and he gently kissed him to offer the apologies he didn't know how to speak. "You are just so perfect that I get carried away," he tried.

Godric never fully understood apologies. What was said was said, and what was done was done. “Kiss me," he demanded with a hard pull at Eric's long straw-colored hair.

Eric wasn't going to deny him that. He kissed Godric passionately. The vampire broke the kiss only to erupt in a moan when Eric squeezed his cock with a hand.   
It was like the transition from night and day to watch Godric take pleasure. Eric knew he would never truly love another again.

***

It was hours before they lay exhausted and sated beside each other. Godric actually felt human in his lack of oxygen as he panted as the sweat dried and cooled on his skin. The smell of sex was heavy and his body twitched with aftershocks. They had taken turns with one another all night. 

Eric turned his head, the only movement he thought he had the effort to make, and looked out the window. It was going to be morning soon. "I should get some water," he whispered hoarsely up to the ceiling.

"All right," Godric whispered drowsily, his eyes barely open and his voice distant.

Eric smiled and leaned over Godric to kiss along his neck and down his chest, as if he couldn't bear the thought of parting even for a moment. Yet his throat was parched and his human body screamed out to guzzle water and take a nice, long piss. 

"Hmmmm… You will get me hard again," Godric warned

Eric smirked and nuzzled Godric's belly button. He knew his lover’s teenaged body was easy to arouse. "I'll be right back," he promised.

Godric pouted at that. "Do not be long."

***

Eric loved the castle while it was sleeping. Though it would never completely rest, with guards like statues along the corridors and mice scampering across floors, Eric still felt like he had it to himself. 

He only bothered to quickly slip on a pair of trousers before heading down to the kitchens. He liked getting his own things: his own water and his own food. Liam had always relied on Mother and his army of exhausted, abused servants to tend to his needs and wipe his ass, but Eric thrived on being self-sufficient. That is how Philip had taught him. One day, he may be the only one he himself could count on. 

The knight grabbed a slice of bread, a pitcher of water, and relieved himself all at once. He felt good as he walked back to his chambers. Though he knew Godric was doomed as a king, at least they had each other. He didn't think his father's blessing would make much of a difference, but it had. 

Eric suddenly froze mid-chew when he turned a corner and saw a dark form in front of his chamber door, lurking quietly and turning the knob with agonizing slowness. Right away, his first instinct was to attack. But what was it? Was it Godric? Was it Liam's ghost? He felt horribly stupid for even thinking it. Was this magic that had survived Marius’ death? It was none of those things. Eric laid his back flat against the shadows on the wall and slowly, very slowly crept forward.

The figure didn't notice him and entered the room without a sound. Eric crept forward until he was able to peek past the door just in time to see a woman in a cloak holding a stake over Godric's sleeping body. 

"Don't you dare touch him," Eric growled into the darkness when he made his presence known and immediately lunged at her. Her face flashed in the moonlight, only briefly enough for Eric to identify her as the mad queen herself, before she drove the wooden stake straight into his own abdomen.

It had happened fast. By the time Godric was awake enough to realize what was happening, Eric had already been stabbed. 

"NO!" the vampire yelled, and he caught Eric before his body could hit the ground. The woman, knowing her one and only weapon was gone, made a run for it. Godric ignored her and she bolted away quickly, like a nightmare. 

Godric stared down at the wound in Eric’s stomach. It repulsed him when Eric suddenly coughed up blood. He held his damaged body and rocked him frantically. "It’s all right... it's just a scratch," he lied.

Eric choked on the pain, feeling the splintered hole in his body throb where the stake was still embedded. "It's not... not just a scratch," he panted. "You have to get her and kill her right now, Godric!"

"I am not leaving you," Godric said with a dangerous calmness. His hand wrapped around the stake and Eric tensed with fear. A wooden stake. The Queen knew what she was dealing with, then. "We should pull this out."

Eric breathed through his clenched teeth to stifle the scream that wanted to rip through him. He knew what had to be done. He was a soldier. He had to do this, just as he had had to do to his fellow men in battle. They had screamed too, and he knew now what it was like to experience the pain of death. "Fuck!" he cried through the pain. "You can heal me, right? You can pull out the stake and...and heal me?"

Godric said nothing and his hesitation only lasted a moment before he savagely ripped the stake out as fast as he could. Eric bit down on his arm hard and screamed into his own skin. He tasted blood and felt himself slipping away. "You have to... You have to put pressure on it, Godric, don't you know that?" he panted, each breath agony. He was going to die.

Godric’s fangs were suddenly aching in the vampire’s mouth. "No," he said as he passively watched the blood gush from the wound with fascination and arousal. "It will not hurt much longer," he whispered to the wound.

"What? What are you doing?!" Eric panicked. His arms felt like the Earth itself was weighing down on them when he reached for his wound to cover it with his trembling hands. "You have to kill her…she was trying to kill you..." he insisted again. He was delirious; he felt like his soul was slowly whisking away from him. And why wasn't Godric doing something? Why was he letting him die? The predatory look in his eyes frightened him.

"Instead of me, she killed you."

Eric shook his head. "I'm not... I'm not dead, Godric! The wound... It needs pressure... I need bandages! I need Marius! Father!"

Godric was suddenly on him, his fangs sinking into the dying human’s neck and draining the last of the life out of him.

"God- Godric!" Eric felt one last burst of fear and adrenaline and his heart beating like a frightened bird. That was all he was underneath his Angel of Death. And Godric was right, the pain melted away into nothingness. 

Godric pulled away and sank his teeth into his own wrist and shoved it into Eric's mouth. "Come on, Eric. Drink and come back to me," he told him. As a born vampire, Godric had never made one of his own before. He listened to his instincts and his mother’s voice in his head telling him he was running out of time. Eric was running out of time. The human remained still, his breathing coming to a halt, his abdomen still bleeding freely. "Please, Eric," Godric begged and blood tears began to fall from his eyes and onto his lover’s pale face. "Please, drink for me."

One drop was all that was needed to bring Eric spitting back from the brink of death. He had reached a hand out of the afterlife to grasp onto that one, tiny bead of fire that now flowed down his throat. His almost-corpse coughed, his body wrenching from it, and he felt more of that fire replacing his body with something not quite life.

"That's it... That's it.... Good boy," Godric mumbled to him, so relieved and surprised at himself. Eric coughed more, but this time, spewed up the blood that Godric was trying to feed him.  
"No, you have to drink, my love," Godric instructed through his own tears. "Drink!" Suddenly, Eric's body convulsed and he stopped coughing. He latched strongly onto Godric's wrist. The   
vampire’s whole body ached with a prayer as he pulled the suckling knight closer to him.

But Eric wasn't Eric then. An animal had taken over. It was the only part of his brain still awake, and that was what was pulling on Godric's vein like hands grasping, crumbling rocks up a cliff that would lead the rest of him back to life. He drank and drank and drank and became stronger by the second.

Godric had to force his sore wrist away before he became too weak. "That's enough, Eric,” he told him. Eric first whimpered then growled at the sudden loss. He sat up with new strength and reached desperately for the wrist again, which was immediately denied. Godric looked at his new child like he was staring into perfection. "You can have more when you hunt down the human that murdered you," he assured him.

That was when Eric truly opened his fresh new eyes to see the cherub of darkness in front of him. Godric looked like he had never seen before. The world was an explosion of color and vibrancy and everything on his skin prickled. "Murdered?" he asked.

Godric sighed, already impatient. They did not have time to wallow in amazement of one another. Both their lives were threatened as long as the queen was loose. "Come on, get up, we have to leave this place. No one can see you like this."

Eric sat up, responding automatically to the urgent tone in his maker's voice, but immediately felt a rush to his head and looked at his hands in the candlelight like he had never seen   
anything so magical before.

Godric reached down to help Eric to stand. "I know everything seems strange right now, but I need you to focus."

Eric looked down at his chest where the stake had pierced him. There was blood covering his chest, but no wound. The blood was still wet and he ran his fingers through it softly. 

Godric suddenly pulled Eric into a kiss, hoping to bring him out of whatever dazed spell held him. Eric immediately responded to the kiss as Godric relaxed. He pulled away to look up at his child. "I worried I had lost you."

Eric watched Godric's lips as they formed words, his petite childlike fangs pointing out from the lines of his lips as he did. And all he could think to say was, "I'm so hungry.”

"I know. I will find you prey... You stay here." Godric placed a firm hand on his chest.

Eric snapped out of his trance enough to visibly panic. His hands gripped Godric's bloody shoulders tightly as if he could hold him there. "No, you can't leave.”

"You need to eat," Godric said, but he swelled with affection from Eric’s neediness. “If you can’t focus enough to listen and do as you’re told, I will have to leave you.”

"You can't leave me!" Eric suddenly shouted, because what would happen if he was alone, if the sun and moon were gone?

"Calm down,” Godric demanded. “Do you think you can follow me?"

"I'll always follow you," Eric said automatically, but then suddenly noticed how obvious his fangs felt in his mouth. He felt them with the tip of his finger and was entranced yet again.

"Do you want to use those things?"

Once again, Godric's voice seemed to snap him out of it. "I'm so hungry," was his answer, the only words he seemed able to say, and suddenly, he took to staring at Godric's neck.

"I know, that is why we have to find you a murderer to eat," Godric told him.

Eric could say nothing to that, so he forced himself to nod, still hypnotized by the beauty of his maker. "After you make your first kill... We will play. But right now, you have to focus, Eric. My child.”

Eric tried his best then. "Anything for you," he promised.

Godric took Eric's hand and led him out of the room and down the hall. Godric wondered how hard it could be to find a mad woman in a giant maze. "The queen. We are hunting the queen," Eric realized suddenly, and something inside him filled with rage at the thought. "I'm going to rip her throat out."

"Yes, child," Godric smiled, the name rolling off his tongue naturally. "She hurt you and she knows what I am… Or what we are."

"I will find her," Eric promised, though he felt like a clumsy animal with the urge to hunt and kill without knowledge or skill. His hand still in Godric's, he began to take the lead down the hallway. Godric smiled and allowed it. Eric needed to do this for himself.

Eric followed the scent of her perfume, the smell of funeral flowers, until he found her hiding in the gardens outside. Stupid woman, Eric thought to himself. Why hadn’t she slit her own throat? She had been in the process of running towards the forest when she heard them coming and jumped into the bushes. Now, she was just a lamb among wolves. 

Eric immediately grabbed her by the throat and threw her up against the castle wall. "Do not give her a chance to scream for help," Godric’s voice told him.

And yet Eric hesitated, not sure how to make the first initial piercing of his fangs into her throat. He pressed into her shaking body and ignored her violent insults as he tore into her throat, making a bloody mess.

Godric watched thirstily. He couldn't help but get turned on by watching Eric feed for the first time. "Hurry, Eric, we are running out of time. Take what you need and kill her."

Eric moaned against the queen's throat, drinking her life away at supernatural speed without the burden of needing oxygen. He continued to drink from her even after he felt her life slip away. When the woman was dead, Godric forced Eric away from her. 

"The guards are coming, we have to leave, now."

Eric was still swooning when Godric pulled him away, but the thought of being in danger snapped him out of it. He allowed the queen's body to fall limply from his grasp and immediately reached for his maker's hand again. 

He gave him a look that was meant to say, 'show me where we can run.' Godric smiled and kissed Eric's bloody lips and led them to the forest.

The End.


End file.
